A man was arrested at a Pennsylvania fair for using a dog leash to walk his wife, who has late-stage dementia, police said.

Walter William Wolford Sr., 66, of Hagerstown, was charged with one count of simple assault at the York Fair on Saturday, after a witness told police they saw Wolford leading his wife, Catherine Wolford, around the fairgrounds with a red nylon dog leash about 8 feet long, the York Daily Record reports.

At one point, Wolford was spotted yanking the leash, causing his wife’s head to “move backwards and for her to sustain red marks around her throat area,” according to charging documents.

Responding cops noted Catherine Wolford’s condition as she was being treated by medical personnel at the fair.

“She was very disoriented, did not know where she was, her own name, and spoke in gibberish,” West Manchester Township police said in a report.

Wolford told police he took his wife to the fair last year without a leash but she wandered away from him, prompting the idea to restrain her.

“Walter told me that he originally placed the leash around her waist, but somehow it had moved up around her neck and when she walked away from him and all of the slack became taut, he gently tugged on the leash so she would stop,” police said.

Wolford said his wife suffers from late-stage dementia. A doctor gave her two years to live about five years ago, he said. She’s no longer taking medication for dementia because “they don’t make any medication that works for that,” Wolford told police.

Investigators also got in touch with the Wolfords’ son, Walter Wolford Jr., who told police he believed his father was not abusive to his mother.

Wolford was released from custody after posting $5,000 unsecured bail, according to the newspaper. He’s due to return to court on Oct. 18, court records show.

Wolford maintained he never meant any harm to his wife.

“I really don’t know what I did wrong,” Wolford told The Post on Wednesday. “I was trying to keep track of my wife. She is three times faster than I am. That’s part of her dementia — she simply runs away.”

Wolford said Saturday marked the third time he had used the leash on his wife.

“The first time, she didn’t like it so I didn’t do it again,” he said. “But then six months later, I tried it on her at a carnival and it worked OK. This was the third time and I was just trying to keep her from running away from me. That’s all.”

Wolford insisted he’s not the “monster” some at the fair claimed he was.

“I don’t really like using it but it was either that or not take her,” Wolford said. “I love my wife more than anything in the world but it’s very difficult to take care of someone with severe dementia. They’re making me out to be a monster, but hurting my wife is the last thing I wanted to do.”