BELLWOOD, Pa.—A 68-year-old central Pennsylvania man pepper sprayed his wife after she brought home a kitten because he had told her he was allergic to cats, the man's attorney said Friday.

Attorney Theodore Krol said his client, Dale Stehley of Bellwood, knows what he did was wrong and hopes to resolve his criminal charges through a first-offender program that will enable him to have his record expunged if he serves probation.

Krol said his client, a retired 35-year veteran of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, has never been in trouble before and knows his actions were "inappropriate." But Krol said Stehley "is allergic to animals and did tell his wife that she could not have a kitten" before she got one anyway.

"He knows his reactions were over the top in relation to this animal," Krol said.

The Altoona Mirror ( http://bit.ly/PJyHkZ) first reported the incident Friday, quoting police who said Stehley's wife told them her husband had been drinking all day before she brought the kitten home Tuesday night.

Stehley slapped the woman before pepper spraying her after cursing her out about the kitten, according to court papers filed by police in Bellwood. Stehley's wife was treated for chest pains, police said.

Stehley faces a preliminary hearing Aug. 7 on charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment. Online court records confirm Stehley has no prior arrests or convictions.

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Information from: Altoona Mirror, http://www.altoonamirror.com