A man in the United States has been charged with animal cruelty after he had sex with his wife’s dog because he was jealous of the amount of attention it was getting from his significant other.

Jonathan Edward Medley of Geneva, Alabama was suspected by his wife of having an affair with another woman when the romance dissipated from their relationship. She hid a recording device in the house and it was then that she made the startling discovery.

The recordings uncovered that Medley was actually committing an act of bestiality by having sex with Buster, his wife’s Shih Tzu.

Geneva police captain Ricky Morgan said that the 39-year-old was “mad at his wife because she paid more attention to the dog than him so he had sex with the dog”.

Morgan explained: “She actually thought he was having an affair with another woman and hid a recording device,” Geneva Police Capt. Ricky Morgan told the Eagle.

“She learned he was in fact molesting the dog.”

Medley was held on $535 after his arrest on Friday 12 June. However, he only faces a misdemeanour charge, which is all bestiality carries under Alabama law.