A black-and-tan dog was rescued from an unsecured kennel on a trailer after a concerned driver alerted authorities, and the owner, a 37-year-old Lake County man, faces a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge.

Troopers at the Indiana State Police post in Lowell were alerted to a post on Facebook Feb. 11 showing an SUV pulling an open utility trailer with an unsecured kennel inside. A large tan-and-black dog appeared to be in distress inside the kennel.

After launching an investigation, a state trooper was able to find the SUV and the dog, who had been abandoned outside a home in Gary. Police said it appeared the dog had been abandoned near a home where the vehicle's owner once lived.

Video showed the dog in a kennel on a trailer that was being towed along an Indiana expressway in frigid temperatures.

An Indiana man is facing criminal charges after a video showing a dog in distress on the back of a speeding trailer went viral earlier this week.

Indiana State troopers say a social media post helped them find a dog that was in danger on a flatbed trailer being pulled along the Borman Expressway this week and identify a man suspected of putting the dog’s life at risk.