A man in Taunton, Massachusetts, is being summonsed to court to face an animal cruelty charge after a traffic stop in West Bridgewater last week revealed his puppy was severely malnourished.

Police say a West Bridgewater officer pulled a vehicle over on Monday, Nov. 24, after seeing it run a red light on North Main Street around 11:49 a.m. that day. While talking to the 27-year-old driver, the officer also saw what appeared to be a significantly underweight dog in the car.

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A subsequent investigation determined that the driver was the owner of the dog, a 9-month-old puppy named Sprout that was in need of medical care for severe malnourishment.

A photo posted to the West Bridgewater Police Department's Facebook page

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