A man accused of stabbing a dog in Syracuse last month has been charged.
According to the Syracuse Police Department, officers responded to the 900 block of South Geddes Street on July 26 around 8:30p for the report of an injured animal. They found a white female Pitbull with a stab wound in her neck.
Officers put the dog in the back of their patrol car and took her to the Veterinary Medical Center of CNY for medical attention; however, the dog succumbed to her injuries.
Officers still on the scene were speaking to witnesses when 31-year-old Thomas Hemmingway claimed to have stabbed the animal in self-defense after being bit by the dog. He then pulled up his pant leg to show where he was bitten but officers observed no marks.
Further investigation by the office’s Animal Cruelty Division found a video allegedly showing the dog with an unidentified man on a leash when Hemmingway grabbed it by the collar and stabbed it with what appears to be a butcher’s knife. The unidentified man then released the dog, allowing it to run away. Hemingway then yelled at the dog while holding the knife above his head before walking away.
After the division determined he didn’t stab the dog in self-defense, Hemingway was arrested and charged with Aggravated Animal Cruelty, an unclassified felony, and taken to the Onondaga County Justice Center.
