Nashua man claims he did not poison dog

A man who recently pleaded guilty to one count of animal neglect in Nashua wants to make it clear that a dog in the case was not poisoned.Anthony Hoffman, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of animal neglect last month in a case where the body of a dead dog was found in a freezer in a Nashua home.Hoffman told the Charles City Press that the dog had died from a major infection in the uterus, and he provided the lab reports from the veterinary diagnostic laboratory in Ames to prove that. The reports were admitted as testimony in his court case, and signed by Chickasaw County Attorney Jennifer Schwickerath.The report from the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab stated the dog had died from severe pyometra and endometritis. Pyometra results from a uterine bacterial infection, often the result of hormonal changes in a dog’s reproductive tract.Endometritis is a uterine condition that affects older, female dogs that can be fatal if left untreated. Hoffman said the dog had been pregnant before the condition developed.— For more on this story, see the Sept. 11 New Hampton Tribune.