New Jersey Couple Accused Of Trying To Kill Dog Because 'He Was Too Expensive'

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MOUNT OLIVE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) — The details are disturbing.

A New Jersey couple is accused of trying to kill their dog.

The motive? Police say they couldn't afford to keep the animal, CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported Thursday.

Mount Olive Township Police say a sweet, 10-year-old border collie named "Scout" was marked for death, shot six times with a BB gun because the couple caring for him, according to court documents, could no longer afford him.

"I'm horrified. You don't do what they did. You just don't do that," veterinarian Dr. Nicholas Minervini said.

According to Minervini, who works at Flanders Veterinary Clinic, the couple seen in surveillance images, 26-year-old Keith Ropp of Mount Olive and his girlfriend, 24-year-old Carly McBride of Long Valley, brought Scout in for treatment on Oct. 6 and told a very peculiar story.

"They called and they said they were hiking in the woods and that someone had shot their dog with a BB gun and ran off," the clinic's Randi Vidal said.

The staff noticed the wounds on Scout and thought the story sounded suspicious and immediately called police. Officers then questioned Ropp and McBride and said what they found out was disturbing.

Officers said Ropp and McBride had brought Scout to a wooded area in Mount Olive, where Ropp shot the dog six times with a BB gun in an attempt to kill him, because, according to court documents, "he was too expensive to take care of."

But when the dog didn't die, they brought it to the vet, officers said.

Ropp and McBride were arrested and charged with possession of weapons for unlawful purpose. A spokesperson for the Mount Olive Township Police told CBS2's Rapoport they will also be charged with animal cruelty.

The vets said Scout is doing fine and one of the doctors there, Dr. Jesse Gasparro, plans to adopt him.

"He's such a sweet dog. It's only been a few days, but you just fall in love with him. He's just so kind," Dr. Gasparro said.

Scout is about to get lovely home, where he will be wanted and safe.

The suspects are scheduled to appear in Morris County Superior Court on Oct. 24.