Matthew Spanburgh, of Warminster (Credit: Warminster Police)
A Warminster man pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges related to the torture and drowning of his Belgian shepherd dog amid purported martial issues and received probation for his crime.
Matthew Michael Spanburgh, 28, pleaded guilty Feb. 13 in Bucks County Common Pleas Court to felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals via torture, aggravated cruelty to animals and causing serious bodily injury or death, and misdemeanor cruelty to animals, stemming from a May 2025 incident, per court records.
Common Pleas Judge Stephen A. Corr sentenced Spanburgh to five years of probation. His probation will run concurrent with the 12 months of probation Spanburgh was given in a separate case involving Warminster Police, in which he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment, per court records.
In addition to probation, Spanburgh must continue mental health treatment and is banned from owning animals while under supervision. Probation may become non-reporting after three years if conditions are satisfied and there are no violations, per court documents.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, at 9:27 p.m., police were called to the 600 block of East Street Road for a welfare check on Spanburgh, as the caller reported he was having marriage problems and may have killed his dog and possibly himself, according to the affidavit.
Upon arrival, police found Spanburgh, who allegedly admitted to killing his short-haired black-and-tan pet by drowning him in the bathtub. He led police to the bedroom, where officers found the dog deceased, laying on its side with paws flat out on the floor, police said. The dog was on a white blanket and blood was around its nose and mouth area, according to the complaint.
Spanburgh told police, per the complaint, that the dog had knocked over a child on a previous date, and his wife was concerned the dog would hurt the child, so “he did not know what else to do.”
Warminster detectives obtained a search warrant for the property and recovered the dog.
Warminster Police, working with Warminster Animal Control Officer and Bucks County SPCA, finished the investigation and obtained an arrest warrant for Spanburgh, police said.
Spanburgh was originally remanded to Bucks County jail on 10% of $300,000 cash bail on the animal charges, and an additional 10% of $30,000 cash bail on charges stemming from another incident involving misdemeanor terroristic threats, according to court documents. However, bail was amended to non-monetary and Spanburgh was released after three weeks in jail. He was represented by Doylestown attorney John Fioravanti Jr.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
