A couple watched in horror as a man continually plunged a knife into a defenseless dog tied up outside his Portage mobile home early Saturday morning, court records said.
As a result, the catastrophically injured dog had to be euthanized.
Tony Lee Hughes, 38, of the 600 block of Camelot Manor, is charged with Level 6 felonies of killing a domestic animal and mutilating a vertebrate animal. He is also charged with theft because he is accused of stealing the dog from a neighbor before attacking it, according to the charges.
In addition, when Hughes was arrested, police found that he had a legend drug and drug paraphernalia in his possession, which resulted in additional charges.
Alerted by the loud whining of a dog, the couple went outside around 12:30 a.m. Saturday and saw Hughes stabbing the dog while it was on the ground, the court record says.
Hughes claimed that he was stabbing the dog in retribution for biting him twice.
However, Portage Police Cpl. Creighton Price, in his affidavit, states that Hughes’ claim was implausible because “he had no injuries whatsoever.”
The dog suffered 10 puncture wounds, the court record states.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
