Wappingers Falls man arrested for abandoning two dogs on the side of the road

A 64-year-old Wappingers Falls man is facing charges after police say he abandoned his two dogs on the side of the road near Lake Carmel.

The Putnam County SPCA said a Good Samaritan found the two dachshund mixes on Longfellow Drive and turned them in.

Detectives and the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office said they located Leo Gioia and charged him with two counts of child abandonment.

According to authorities, Gioia faces up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.