Man Charged With Beating Dog May Face Even More Charges - WTRF 7 News Sports Weather - Wheeling Steubenville

The man accused of beating a small dog to death on Wheeling Island was to have his preliminary hearing Wednesday.

It was a packed house in Ohio County Magistrate Court as citizens and the news media were on hand.

But in the end, Anthony Doyle waived his right to a preliminary hearing so the case will go on from there.

And it may indeed go on, with additional charges.

27-year-old Anthony Doyle right now is charged with one count of felony cruelty to animals.

But the assistant prosecutor says there may be more charges coming.

Toby's owner tells WTRF.com that the post mortem showed the dog had been suffering from old injuries, even before the beating that killed him.

And she says Doyle had been jealous of the dog for a long time.

Assistant Prosecutor Shawn Turak says this case has evoked more public response than any other in her entire career in the prosecutor's office.

"People are expressing outrage over just the vicious nature of the attack and the fact that  according to the evidence in the investigation it was multiple attacks over a period of time," Turak said. "And the photographs are pretty brutal, and there's a lot of blood. And I think people are reacting to that. It was an eight-pound dog."

"He loved me," said Jill McPherson, referring to her Shih Tzu, Toby. "And I believe that's why it happened, because my dog loved me. He (Doyle) was trying to hurt me so he killed my dog. Yeah, I loved my dog. My dog loved me. And he (Doyle) was jealous. He used to ask me on a daily basis how I could love my dog more than my boyfriend. Yeah, he was jealous of an eight-pound Shih Tzu that loved me."

Click here to see McPherson's full interview.

Doyle was sent back to the West Virginia Northern Regional Jail where he's being held on a $25,000 cash bond.

Turak says, due to the high degree of public response to this case, perhaps it was better that Doyle waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

The case now goes to the grand jury, and the next Ohio County Grand Jury is September 10.