Man gets jail time for stabbing dog more than 15 times
MCCOOK, Neb. (KHGI) – A man who, according to the Nebraska State Patrol, stabbed a dog more than 15 times has been given jail time for the crime.
According to Red Willow County Court records, James Wagner pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of cruelly mistreating an animal, a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Wagner was originally charged with felony intentional cruelty to an animal and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. Court records show Wagner was given 60 days in jail and credit for 31 days served.
The Nebraska State Patrol said citizens alerted the patrol to a severely injured dog in northwest Red Willow County last month.
NSP said a trooper discovered that the dog had several stab wounds and transported it to the Red Willow Animal Clinic, where it underwent emergency surgery.
They said veterinarians at the clinic were able to save the dog during a surgery that lasted longer than two hours. Since then, authorities said an anonymous Christian donor from Colorado has covered all medical costs.
The dog was later taken to the McCook Humane Society and named Trooper, according to NSP. The shelter said Trooper has since been adopted.
Earlier in the week, the patrol said troopers had been called to a report of a transient man who was reportedly covered in blood. Troopers said they, and Frontier County deputies found the man in northwest Red Willow County, with blood on his clothes and hands.
NSP said witnesses told them that the man had had two dogs with him in previous days, but only one dog was with him when troopers found him. Troopers said they determined that the dog did not belong to him and took it to the animal shelter and transported the man to a shelter in North Platte.
After the injured dog was found later in the week, NSP said they looked for Wagner, 29, and found him in the Lincoln County Jail. They said he had been arrested for shoplifting.
