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SALT LAKE CITY — A man beat his 4-month-old border collie to death in August after physically abusing the pet multiple times over the summer, according to charges filed against him Thursday.
Mikah M. Johnson, 19, allegedly attacked the puppy on at least five occasions over the course of just more than a month, ending Aug. 18 when the dog died.
Johnson, of Salt Lake City, is charged in 3rd District Court with three counts of torture of a companion animal, a third-degree felony, and two counts of cruelty to an animal, a class B misdemeanor.
On one occasion, Johnson allegedly kicked the dog down the stairs of his apartment. The dog, named Moose, cut his chin in the alleged attack, charging documents say.
Johnson's girlfriend reportedly told an animal services officer she noticed the dog acting timid one day and found out from her neighbors that they heard Johnson beating Moose for about 45 minutes while she was out of the apartment.
"It was so loud they couldn't go to sleep," charging documents state.
About a week later, Moose's legs were allegedly injured when Johnson returned home from walking him and another one of the couple's dogs. Johnson allegedly told his girlfriend he was walking them when he noticed the dog had become unconscious and then used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to save him.
It (man beating dog) was so loud they (neighbors) couldn't go to sleep.
–charging documents
"(The dog) had a hard time walking and standing on his back legs," charging documents say.
The dog continued to sneeze that night, so Johnson's girlfriend took him to a veterinarian for treatment, according to court documents. The woman reportedly took Moose to a veterinarian twice more in August and relayed her suspicion that Johnson had sprayed the dog with Lysol.
Moose was again alone with Johnson just hours after the last veterinarian visit when the man allegedly beat the dog to death. A neighbor told Johnson's girlfriend she heard what sounded like him attacking the animal for about 30 minutes. The woman returned to the apartment, rushed him to a nearby veterinarian's office, where he was pronounced dead.
A neighbor later told police she woke up to sounds of Moose crying from a nearby apartment. She said it sounded like the dog was being strangled. Johnson hit Moose between 10 and 15 times, the neighbor said.
An examination of the dog revealed he died from severe internal bleeding in the lungs, charging documents say. Blunt force trauma was identified as the cause of death.
(The doctor) stated that he did not believe Moose's injuries could be cause by another dog during play.
–charging documents
Parts of the dog's face were also heavily bruised and bleeding, according to the charges. The medical report also apparently found the dog suffered a broken jaw and a fractured tooth and had missing teeth.
"(The doctor) stated that he did not believe Moose's injuries could be cause by another dog during play," charging documents state.
A veteranarian who treated Moose while he was alive told police he noticed the dog's eye was damaged and that he may have been sprayed with a corrosive cleaner or similar substance.
Court records show the woman described as Johnson's girlfriend in charging documents filed for a protective order against him in October. Aside from Thursday's charges, he has no other adult criminal history in Utah.
A warrant for Johnson's arrest was issued Thursday. No initial court date has been set in the case.
