Dog stabbed during domestic dispute
Bristol, CT (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Feb 3, 2008
County: Hartford
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Jose Burgos
A city man who stabbed his girlfriend's pit bull in a spat over the dog's behavior after earlier threatening to harm the animal if the owner did not make him a sandwich had his case continued Friday.
Jose Burgos, 20, of 52 Fourth St. faces charges of animal cruelty, second-degree breach of peace, second-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree threatening for the incident that left the 1�-year-old pit bull named Taina with a large cut on the back.
The attack followed a day of fighting between Burgos and his girlfriend over the dog's behavior and attitude, according to court records.
After spending most of Feb. 3 arguing over Taina, the couple returned to their Fourth Street home apartment, court records state. Around 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 4, Burgos' girlfriend was awakened by his shouting.
Burgos was drunk and carrying a large liquor bottle around the apartment when he threatened to stab Taina if his girlfriend didn't fix him a sandwich, court records state.
Fearful for her dog's safety, the woman made the sandwich. Burgos held a knife close to the dog's face while the woman was preparing his meal, court records state.
After she was done making the sandwich, the woman went back to the bedroom and tried to get Taina to follow her, but the dog refused. The girlfriend then locked herself in the bathroom because she was "afraid what Burgos would do to Taina," court records state.
A short time later, Burgos picked the bathroom lock and reportedly said, "look what I did to her" while pointing at Taina. He then reportedly told his girlfriend to clean the apartment's carpet because he didn't want the blood to stain it. Several minutes into cleaning, Burgos's girlfriend stopped to check on the dog when the man threatened to stab her if she didn't keep going, court records state.
Eventually, Taina broke free from her leash and went into another room. The woman was able to pull her dog down the stairs and get it into the hands of her mother before calling police, court records state.
Burgos told authorities he was defending himself when he stabbed the grey terrier but couldn't explain what Taina had done or why the dog didn't try to attack both of them, records state.
The girlfriend's 11-month-old son was home during Burgos's attack on Taina, according to the records.
Burgos is due back in court Sept. 24. References |
