Jacob Bushkin, 27, was arrested last Thursday
Police say an Arizona man stabbed his golden retriever service dog more than 100 times and dumped the dog’s body in a trash can, PEOPLE confirms.
Jacob Bushkin, 27, was arrested last Thursday on the charges of killing a service animal and animal cruelty in the death of Cub, an Arizona state qualified service animal who was four years old, according to a press release from the Scottsdale Police Department.
“I can’t imagine who would do that to an animal and especially one like that because they’re not aggressive dogs,” neighbor Marcia Solomon told FOX 10.
Investigators discovered that Bushkin notified his family on Feb. 25 around 5 a.m. about the death of Cub. Family members then allegedly found the dog in a garbage can and took him to a veterinarian. There, the veterinarian noticed the dog had been stabbed dozens of times and that his throat had been slit. The vet contacted the Scottsdale Police Department and the Arizona Humane Society, the release states.
A necropsy found that the dog had been stabbed over 100 times and was alive during the attack, the release states.
Police say they tried to contact Bushkin by phone, but he allegedly refused to cooperate. Police initiated a search of his Scottsdale home where “further evidence of the crime was recovered,” the press release alleges.
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According to FOX 10, evidence at the scene included cleaning supplies, an empty kitchen knife set and a large quantity of blood.
Bushkin was taken into custody at his lawyer’s office. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.
He is in jail pending a court appearance and hasn’t yet entered a plea.