Boonville Police make felony arrest in wake of dog cruelty investigation in October

BOONVILLE- Authorities have announced a felony animal cruelty arrest after an injured dog was found in the cemetery earlier this fall.

As previously reported, Boonville Police began investigating a gravely injured dog that was found in the village cemetery on October 06, 2025.

The dog was originally found that morning by cemetery employees.

With the assistance of the Boonville dog control officer, Craig Jenks, the dog was transported to the Boonville Veterinary Clinic in Boonville. After an examination there, it was determined that the dog had suffered a severed spine, along with other injuries, and the decision was made to euthanize the dog.

Due to the injuries that the dog had, officials claim it would have been impossible for the dog to have been ambulatory enough to travel on its own power to the location where it had been found.

An investigation was conducted by the Boonville Police Department.

According to Chief of Police Dave Olney, it was determined that the dog had apparently been struck by a vehicle in Lewis County late in the evening on October 3, 2025. Around midnight on October, 04, 2025, police in Lewis County received a call for an injured dog in the roadway on the Number Four Rd in Lowville.

Through their investigation, they contacted the owner and the owner sent someone to respond to retrieve the dog, Herman, to get it emergency care.

A male responded and took possession of the injured dog. Instead of seeking emergency treatment for the dog, that person is alleged to have abandoned the dog in the Boonville Cemetery in the early morning hours of October 4th, 2025.

As a result of the investigation, Alex J. Vandewater, age 31 of Glenfield, NY, was arrested by the Boonville Police Department and charged with Aggravated Animal Cruelty, a Felony under New York State Agriculture and Markets Law section 353-1.

He was brought to Oneida County Central Arraignment Court at the Deputy Kurt B. Wyman Law Enforcement Complex in Oriskany, where he is awaiting arraignment on the charges.

Image via the Boonville Village Police Department.