MERIDEN — Animal Control is seeking custody of an English bulldog seized two weeks ago after the dog’s owners were charged with animal cruelty.

According to documents filed in Meriden Superior Court on Jan. 2, Animal Control Officer Sarah Bacon is petitioning to have ownership granted to the Animal Control Division for the 2-year-old dog seized from 95 Mountain View Road on Dec. 29. The dog’s owners, Salesse Pearsall, 31, and Benjamin Pearsall, 44, were both charged with two counts of animal cruelty last month. Saleese Pearsall was also cited with first-degree unlawful tether and failure to license a dog.

Animal Control has temporary custody of the dog. A court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12.

In 2016, Bacon issued the Pearsalls a verbal warning after finding the dog in a small enclosure with no sides to shield it from the elements, the court complaint said.

On Nov. 7, 2017, Bacon found the dog dirty and shivering in the same enclosure. Bacon told Saleese Pearsall the dog needed proper shelter, food, and water at all times and needed to be brought inside, the complaint said. Saleese Pearsall said the dog “only went outside to use the bathroom.” Bacon also discovered that the dog was not licensed.

On Dec. 26, 2017, police received another call that the dog was outside for about five hours. Bacon and officers saw the dog tethered on a back porch. It appeared to be shivering with no food or access to shelter, the complaint said.

Saleese Pearsall told police the dog was only outside for a few minutes, the complaint stated. The dog appeared dirty and in poor body condition with the spine protruding from the skin and fur falling off, the complaint said. The temperature at the time was 24 degrees.

On Dec. 29, police seized the dog and took it to a veterinarian after serving a warrant on the Pearsalls. The veterinarian reported the dog weighed 32 pounds, had an abnormality on its eyelids, a lesion on its head that bled and skin dermatitis on its face, the complaint said.

The court complaint also asks that the Pearsalls pay for the expenses for the care of the dog.

Saleese and Benjamin Pearsall couldn’t be reached for comment on Tuesday.