Police: Gilpin man reports own dog as stray, asks officer to remove it

A Gilpin man is accused of lying to police last month when they said he reported a stray dog had been barking all night outside his residence and asked for the dog to be removed.

Police said they learned that the dog belonged to the man, identified in court documents as Justin Allen Brumbaugh, 31.

Police said Brumbaugh called police about the dog around 9 p.m. Feb. 16.

After Brumbaugh told a responding officer he didn’t know who the dog belonged to, the complaint said several neighbors approached the officer and said the dog wasn’t a stray, but belonged to Brumbaugh.

The neighbors provided police with a Facebook photo showing Brumbaugh with two dogs, including the purported stray, the complaint said.

Police said Brumbaugh became “vulgar” when asked if the dog was his, but later admitted it was. Brumbaugh refused to let the dog back into his house, alleging it had bitten one of his children and didn’t get along with another dog in the house, the complaint said. Police said temperatures that night hovered around 20 degrees.

Police charged Brumbaugh with a misdemeanor count of making false reports to law enforcement and a summary count of animal cruelty.

Police took the dog to a shelter, according to the complaint.

Gilpin police Chief Chris Fabec said Wednesday that the shelter had requested anonymity because of the nature of the case, but the dog remains good health.

Fabec said anyone interested in adopting the dog should call Gilpin police at 724-845-7979.