(Photo courtesy of KPLC 7 News)  Calcasieu Parish Animal Services plan to press felony charges against a man accused of torturing a family's miniature chow mix with a Samurai sword.

Paul Reynolds and his wife thought their dog was safe when they locked her in their shop behind their house. They say she was afraid of fireworks and wanted her to feel safe.

Paul suspects thieves attempted to break into his shop (he says they've broken in before), and that's how the dog got out.

Neighbors say the Reynolds' dog, "Puppy," wandered over to a New Years gathering down the street and that's when the suspect (who isn't being identified just yet) picked up a sword and brutally attacked the dog.

"I heard it was worse than that," Paul Reynolds said, "I heard one blow nearly chopped my dog in half."

Calcasieu Parish Animal Services Director, Rita Cavenaugh said, "We got one report that the dog tried to bite the man. But, that doesn't sound right. Normal behavior when a vicious dog is around is to retreat."

The Reynolds agree that it doesn't sound right.  "We've had the dog 7 years and she's never bitten anyone," said Paul.

"We rescued her from an abusive home," said Brinda Reynolds. "We rescued her and got her to trust people again, and now this happened."

"I know she wasn't aggressive. She had arthritis. She suffered arthritis due to the abuse from her first home, and she didn't even get around that good," said Paul.

Cavenaugh agrees, "this didn't look like self-defense. From what I can tell you, this was one of the most horrific animal cruelty cases I've seen in Calcasieu Parish," she said.

Reference:

KPLC 7 News