BOULDER, Colo. -- A 26-year-old man faces an animal cruelty charge after police said a 4-month-old beagle asphyxiated after having its mouth taped shut for barking and chewing on things.

Kenneth Gookin was arrested Friday following a two-day investigation by Boulder police.

Police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said Gookin told investigators the beagle had been chewing everything, including a phone charger. He told investigators he taped the puppy's mouth shut, put him in the bathroom and left him there for about 1½ hours while he went to the store to buy a new phone charger.

Gookin told police the puppy was "slamming his body against the door" of the bathroom when he left.

The dog, named Vicious, was dead when he got back. Gookin had called police Wednesday for help in disposing of a dead dog. He initially told investigators he didn't know how the dog died.

Police went to the man's residence, in the 1800 block of 26th Street, and were suspicious because there was blood around the dog's taped mouth. A necropsy conducted at a local animal clinic determined the dog died from asphyxiation, possibly due to strangulation.