Ohio ? A couple locked their 10-year-old son in a small dog cage while his father used drugs, and at times they forced him to wear a shock collar meant for training animals, authorities said.

Jessica Botzko, 28, and John Westover, 37, were arrested Wednesday, a day after their two sons were left alone at home and ran away. They were found on a neighbor’s porch.

The couple appeared briefly in court Thursday on charges of child endangerment and making or selling drugs in front of the boy and his 5-year-old brother.

The older boy told officers that he took off because he was tired of being left in the cage, which was less than 2 feet high by 2 feet wide, police Capt. Ray Carroll said.

Court documents say the boy was repeatedly shocked at the family’s home through the remote-controlled collar.

It was not clear whether the younger boy had been caged, Carroll said. The boys were in state custody.

The 10-year-old told officers that his father put him in the cage when he was using or making drugs, Carroll said.