HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. — Police in Helena-West Helena are investigating an animal cruelty call in which a malnourished and abused dog was found tied to a tree. An officer found the dog in the backyard of a home in the 200 block of North 4th Street and noted it was malnourished and looked severely abused. The dog was unable to sit due to a ‘very small extension cord’ tied around its neck. When the officer removed the cord, the dog was too weak to stand on its own. The resident of the house, Takia Jones, told police her 16-year-old brother left the dog in the backyard several weeks ago and never checked on it. Police said it seems like Jones did not try to care for the dog either. “It’s safe to say that the dog was not properly fed for a long time,” Helena-West Helena Police Chief Virgil Green said. The Humane Society took the dog. Officers arrested Jones for animal cruelty, and she was released after posting bond. Green reminded citizens to properly care for their dogs and report any incidents of animal cruelty. “Animals can’t speak for themselves we have to be the voices for animals,” he said.