A young boy's report to Coweta County deputies set off a search through the woods behind a Newnan motel on August 7, where officers found a Rottweiler mix named Boogie tied up alive inside a dumped plastic trash bag. The dog, severely dehydrated and struggling to breathe, died a short time later while authorities tried to get him emergency veterinary care.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the boy reported that two men had placed the live dog inside a trash bag, loaded the bag into a grocery cart, and rolled it away from the property near the Red Carpet Inn off Interstate 85. Deputies searched the woods near the motel and located the bag, finding the dog was still alive when they got to him, per deputies. First responders gave Boogie water at the scene and moved him to a soft bed with food, but he did not survive.
A separate scanner-traffic account from Newnan Coweta Scanner Traffic adds that the initial 911-style report came in around 9:50 PM on August 7, when the juvenile witness described watching the tied-up dog actively try to escape from inside the cart as the two men wheeled it away. That detail helps explain how the call reached deputies so quickly and why they moved straight to a woods search behind the motel.
Body-Camera Footage Made Public
On Thursday, the Coweta County Sheriff's Office released body-worn camera footage showing the moment deputies found the bag in the woods and cut it open to begin emergency aid, according to the same Newnan Coweta Scanner Traffic account. Cpl. Jacob Herbert of the sheriff's office provided details and the footage to FOX 5 Atlanta covering the rescue attempt. One suspect claimed, per deputies, that the dog had already died before the bag was left in the woods — a claim investigators have not confirmed, since deputies say the dog was still alive when they opened the bag.
Boogie was taken to Auburn University for a necropsy to determine his official cause of death. The referral sent the case to Auburn's Department of Pathobiology, where board-certified veterinary anatomic pathologists in Alabama conduct postmortem exams and forensic diagnostic work for veterinary teaching hospitals and public agencies, according to Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. The results of that examination were not yet available.
Two Men Face Felony and Misdemeanor Charges
Alan Thompson and Jacob Burke were both arrested in connection with the incident. Charges released by law enforcement specify that Thompson was charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty and cruelty to children, while Burke was charged with aggravated animal cruelty as a party to a crime along with cruelty to children, per the Newnan Coweta Scanner Traffic report.
Under Georgia Code § 16-12-4, aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony carrying one to five years in prison, fines up to $15,000, or both, when a person maliciously causes death or severe physical suffering to an animal, according to Atlanta DUI Lawyer. The child cruelty count stems from a separate statute: under Georgia Code § 16-5-70(d), third-degree cruelty to children is a misdemeanor that applies when a primary aggressor intentionally allows a minor to witness a forcible felony or act of violent battery, punishable by up to 12 months in jail, as explained by Cobb Defense. That statute is what connects the animal cruelty allegations to the boy who reported what he saw.
Authorities found other healthy pets belonging to the suspects at the motel and left those animals in the care of a relative rather than seizing them, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
A Corridor With a History of Police Activity
The Red Carpet Inn sits along an I-85 commercial corridor where Coweta County law enforcement has previously carried out multi-agency vice operations and responded to violent felony incidents, according to The Times-Herald. Any animals seized as evidence in Coweta County cruelty cases would typically pass through the county's Animal Services shelter on Selt Road in Newnan, which enforces local animal control ordinances under Chapter 10 of the county code, per the City of Newnan Police Department.
The case also arrives as Georgia lawmakers weigh tighter tracking of convicted animal abusers statewide. During its 2026 session, the Georgia General Assembly considered Senate Bill 587, which would create a statewide animal abuse registry tracking people convicted of felony aggravated cruelty under O.C.G.A. § 16-12-4 and dogfighting, according to the Georgia Pet Coalition. The Georgia Department of Agriculture's Law Enforcement Division also regularly works with local sheriff's offices statewide to investigate severe companion animal abuse cases and execute search warrants, the agency says.
Boogie's cause of death remains pending the results of the Auburn necropsy, and it is not yet clear when Thompson and Burke will next appear in court or what bond conditions, if any, have been set in the case.
