A Butler man is accused of a disturbing case of animal cruelty.

City police said 40-year-old Paul Plakidas put a small dog in a cooler filled with water and placed a live electrical wire into the water, electrocuting the animal.

The incident happened in September at the defendant's then home on the 400 block of North Chestnut Street and involved the family's 7-year-old Maltese, a breed of lap dog.

District Judge William Fullerton on Wednesday arraigned Plakidas on a pair of felony charges in the case. Plakidas is free on his own recognizance.

The defendant's girlfriend initially called for police about 2:30 a.m. Sept. 1 to report a disturbance at their home, according to court documents.

She told officers that she had been gone for about an hour, police said, and when she returned home she found her dog dead and Plakidas “not acting himself.”

The 38-year-old woman said she believed that her boyfriend had killed the dog. She told police the dog was “healthy and normal” when she had left the house.

Officers spoke to the defendant, who they suspected was intoxicated, documents said.

When police asked him about the whereabouts of the animal, he told them it was dead and next to the house in a garbage can.

“Plakidas told officers that someone had put the dog in a cooler filled with water,” according to a police affidavit, “and had used a wire to electrocute it to death.”

He admitted to being alone at the house at the time.

Police also noted that while speaking to his girlfriend, the defendant made an unsolicited comment, telling her that the dog was “better” now.

Officers subsequently found a cooler in the basement, police said. The cooler was filled with water and it contained an electrical cable that investigators believe was used to kill the dog.

Additionally, police said the manner in which Plakidas allegedly killed the dog, “caused a great risk for a fire to the entire house and surrounding area.”

The defendant, court records showed, was admitted to Butler Memorial Hospital's general psychiatry unit following the incident. He was later transferred to VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

Two city officers Wednesday traveled to the Pittsburgh facility and took custody of Plakidas. He was taken to Fullerton's office and arraigned on charges of aggravated cruelty to an animal and risking a catastrophe.

He was released on his own recognizance under pretrial supervision. Among the conditions are that he have no contact with the victim or her children, and that he provide a new address to the court before 2 p.m. Thursday.

Plakidas was evicted from his former home after his girlfriend on Sept. 5 was granted a temporary protection from abuse order against him.

Plakidas' attorney, Benjamin Steinberg of Warrendale, was with his client at Wednesday's arraignment. He did not return a telephone call seeking comment.