‘Truly awful’: Man accused of stabbing 8-month-old puppy after animal had accident in his house

PERKINS TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - Ohio authorities say a man has been charged with animal cruelty after attacking a puppy in his care.

According to the Friendship Animal Protective League, a nonprofit animal shelter, an 8-month-old puppy named Ivy required life-saving emergency surgery after the brutal attack.

“She no longer looked like a dog,” Greg Willey, executive director at the Animal Protective League.

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Perkins Township police later identified the man accused of the attack as 41-year-old Terry Thomas.

Police said the reported stabbing happened after the puppy had accidentally went to the bathroom inside Thomas’ house.

The animal care team said they first received a “frantic, early morning call” from Northview Animal Clinic staff on Saturday after someone brought the puppy into the clinic “bleeding from a large, gaping wound in her face.”

Perkins Township police said Thomas had struck Ivy several times “with an unknown object.”

The animal shelter said the puppy’s injuries were from a “brutal stabbing.”

“They had to repair her ear, which had been sliced off. They had to repair a gaping open wound,” Willey said.

The humane team said they went to the Animal Clinic Northview where Thomas signed Ivy over to them, who then authorized the Northview veterinary team to “begin life-saving surgery.”

“The fact that they were able to piece her back together is truly incredible,” Willey said.

Ivy survived the surgery and remains in the care of the animal clinic as she recovers, the animal care team said.

“The road to recovery for this girl will be long, but despite the horrific trauma she went through, we remain hopeful,” the team shared.

According to the animal shelter, once Ivy is medically cleared to be released from the clinic, she will go to a foster home.

The Animal Protective League said its humane team has presented evidence to the Perkins Township Police Department regarding Ivy’s injuries connected to Thomas.

He was booked into the Erie County Jail on one count of cruelty to animals, a fifth-degree felony.

“The most important thing is that he will not be allowed to own animals ever again,” Willey said.

Thomas is scheduled for a court appearance on May 29.

“Thanks to the heroic care of the team at Animal Clinic Northview, the diligence of our humane team, and the decisive action of the Perkins Police Department, this sweet girl will have a second chance and the owner will face justice for this truly awful case of brutal abuse,” the Friendship Animal Protective League team shared in a statement.

According to Erie County Dog Warden Barb Knapp, Thomas is also facing an animal cruelty charge dating back to March 2022.

Willey said there’s been an alarming uptick in animal abuse cases over the past several years and dozens of pets are still in need of love and support at the shelter.