TACOMA, Wash. -- A Spanaway man accused of having sex with a dog is apparently the first person in the Washington state charged under a new bestiality law.

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Pierce County prosecutors said 26-year-old Michael Patrick McPhail was caught by his wife on Wednesday night having intercourse on the back porch with their four-year-old female pit bull terrier.

The wife took photos with a cell phone and called police.

"There's pretty clear proof what happened to this dog," said Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer.

McPhail was arrested that night. He is held on $300,000 bail and is reportedly on suicide watch in the jail in Tacoma.

Charged with animal cruelty, he could be sentenced to a year in jail if convicted.

The bestiality law took effect in June. It was prompted by an incident in Enumclaw where a man died after having sex with a horse.