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MAPLETON — A Mapleton man was charged Monday with killing his dog by cutting its throat and putting a plastic bag over its head.
Nathaniel Laurence Weber, 41, is charged in 4th District Court with torture of a companion animal, a third-degree felony.
On Jan. 26, a witness found in Weber's garage "a dog with a bag wrapped around its head and with blood all over the floor and on objects nearby," according to charging documents.
At that time, the dog was still breathing. The witness then called Weber and accused him of doing "a terrible thing. Weber replied that the dog had gotten into pesticide and was defecating and puking and that the dog needed to be put down," according to charging documents.
An necropsy report, however, noted that no pesticides were found in the dog's liver and police did not report finding any vomit or feces, the charges state.
The witness left the garage to find police. An officer followed the witness back to the garage, where the dog was now deceased inside with a plastic bag and ratchet strap wrapped around its head, according to the charges.
"The officer observed a knife near the dog that was covered in blood," the charges state.
When questioned, Weber said "that the dog looked sick since its eyes were pink" and then "panicked and tried to put the dog out of its misery" by first covering its head with a plastic bag and then stabbing the dog in the neck, according to charging documents.
After injuring the dog, Weber told police he went to a friend's house. Court documents do not indicate the age or breed of the dog.
