(Newser) – A Pennsylvania man was charged with animal cruelty after his pet Chihuahua allegedly got drunk on vodka. Police took the pint-sized pooch to an emergency vet service after it was clear the animal had had too much to drink. CBS Pittsburgh reports it all started last Thursday afternoon when police found 3-year-old Maxwell lapping up vodka from the center console of a car that had hit a fence in Bethel Park. Police say the alcohol was spilling from a bottle resting on Thomas Bloedel's lap. The 12-pound pup was "stumbling around like a person who was drunk. His pupils were dilated," Dimitri Brown, of University Veterinary Specialists, tells WTAE.

By the next day Maxwell was back to normal, "not showing any signs of what happened," says Brown, who notes that cases of animals sampling their owner's drinks aren't unusual. Maxwell is currently staying at the animal control officer's house. Meanwhile, Bloedel, 44, was also charged with misdemeanor counts of DUI and terroristic threats; he allegedly threatened to shoot and kill the cops who approached his car, though CBS notes he didn't have a gun on him. (This man was sentenced for biting off a chihuahua puppy's head.)

