Australia: Unnamed man, 37, arrested and charged with stabbing a Labrador to death at local park

AUSTRALIA -- Police investigating the stabbing death of a dog at a park in Perth's northern suburbs have arrested a man and charged him with animal cruelty.

The 37-year-old man from Mirrabooka is alleged to have stabbed a four-year-old golden Labrador at the Apple Blossom Polyantha Reserve on Wednesday night.

He is due to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on June 15 to face a charge of animal cruelty.

The dog's 22-year-old owner, who asked not to be identified, said she was exercising her two dogs, Luna and Choco, at the reserve when she noticed a man kneeling over Luna.

"Within a split second Luna was on the floor, I thought she was just submitting, wanting to play," the woman said.

"The man's bent down, I didn't hear any snarls, growl, yelps or barks, I thought everything was fine."

 

She jogged up to the man to make sure her dog was not bothering his small, tan-colored dog.

She said he put his hood on and mumbled something incoherent before he walked away, broke into a run and jumped a fence.

"I got closer, I realized she was on the floor, blood all over her, I just dropped and start screaming and screaming," she said.

"I picked her up and lay her on top of me and felt her heart and I couldn't feel her breathing, she was gone within seconds."

The woman rushed Luna to a nearby vet but she could not be saved.

She said her dog was gentle and good with other animals.

"She's our little baby, she sleeps on the bed with me … she was just beautiful," she said.

(ABC - May 20, 2017)

Earlier:

• Australia: Dog stabbed to death in Perth park by hoodie-wearing man; police seek witnesses