A Lansford man faces cruelty to animals and neglect charges after two dogs were left outside for hours in the bitter cold in late January.

Robert Santiago Jr., 49, of East Patterson Street, was arraigned on Tuesday afternoon by Weatherly District Judge Joseph Homanko, who set bail at $25,000.

Santiago was remanded to the Carbon County Correctional Facility in Nesquehoning in lieu of bail.

According to court papers, Lansford police responded to 246 E. Patterson St. on Jan. 28 at 6:23 p.m. for a report of two dogs left outside for nearly eight hours.

Police reported the weather conditions were cold and windy with temperatures between 4 and 15 degrees.

Police spoke to a neighbor, who said the two dogs were outside for a very long time and were freezing, and allowed police to walk through their residence to view the dogs in the backyard, court papers said.

The bully-type dogs were in the backyard, which was covered in snow following a 15-inch snowfall a few days earlier. Police saw no shelter, or food or water for the dogs outside.

The male dog was barking aggressively, and slobber froze on his face, and the dog was shaking, court papers said. The other, a female, was pacing along the snow-covered fence line, visibly shaking with ice on its face, court papers said.

Police went to the front porch of 246 E. Patterson and knocked and yelled to Santiago, and another officer arrived and also began to bang on the front door. The officers could see him on the couch in the middle room through the window.

Officers continued to bang on the windows and door for nearly two hours, and at one point Santiago, who police said was highly intoxicated, got up from the couch and attempted to walk to the front door.

Santiago fell forward and smashed his face off the hardwood floor, while attempting to reach the front door, court papers said. After several minutes, he got back to his feet, fell into the wall and, using the coffee table, got back to the couch, where he took a drink from a coffee mug, court papers said.

One officer continued to knock on the door, when another neighbor approached and said he could assist in getting the dogs out of the fenced-in yard.

Officers asked the county communications center to reach out to Tom Connors, the dog officer and county shelter director, to see if he could take the dogs at the shelter. An assistant district attorney was also contact to see out to proceed.

Then, Santiago came to the door, and denied that he had left the dogs outside for that long. Officers asked if it was possible, if he forgot to let the dogs in because he was intoxicated, and Santiago said the dogs weren’t out that long, court papers said.

Officers advised him that they were taking the dogs, because he wasn’t taking care of them, and he said they weren’t his dogs and they could take them, court papers said.

Connors arrived at the scene and coaxed both dogs into the home and then took them to the shelter.

Officers then observed an injury to Santiago’s face and called an ambulance for his split lip and possibly bitten tongue due to his earlier fall. He refused to go to the hospital.

Officers told Santiago that they would need to speak to him and contact him for an interview. Officers were not successful in reaching Santiago for an interview after several attempts.