LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Washington man is facing charges for torturing his dog in the Nevada desert.
According to an arrest report, Las Vegas police received a call from someone on March 18 who found a large, brown dog south of Nevada Telephone Cove and Red Hill Road in Laughlin. The caller stated the dog had been stabbed multiple times in the head and had her throat cut at least twice. The caller said the dog was friendly but "appeared to be disorientated," according to the report.
The dog was taken to an animal shelter in Laughlin, was stitched up, and had a feeding tube inserted into her throat. After surviving for a few days after surgery, she was euthanized at The Animal Foundation.
A veterinarian found a microchip in the dog that identified her owner as Spokane native Wayne Johnson, investigators noted.
Police called Johnson, who said he was staying at the Shangri-La River Suites Motel in Bullhead City with his wife. He said the couple brought their dog, Kea, with them from their home in Spokane.
Johnson said the dog was up every two hours at night to use the bathroom and was urinating blood. The arrest report said he told police she was "getting too old and sick and wanted to put her down."
According to the arrest report, "he said he thought he finished the job and left" and also told officers "it was too bad that they were wasting all that money on a dying dog." Johnson then told officers he would cooperate but "didn't think he had committed a crime."
Officers tried to contact Johnson a second time, on March 20, to see if he could come to the Laughlin station in person, but he was already on the road driving back to Washington, investigators noted in their report.
During a second phone call with police, Johnson told them he had grown up on a farm and was used to dealing with putting their own animals down. He said he would have used a gun for the job but couldn't since he was traveling. Instead, he "purchased a hammer and went on a hike where they used to go and had good memories."
The report states he hit Kea on the top of the head with the hammer to knock her out and then cut her throat. When the dog didn't move anymore, he left.
According to the warrant for Johnson's arrest, investigators said their conversation "did not lead me to believe he was being malicious with the act but more as a very poor decision and execution."
Johnson was arrested on Sept. 14 in Laughlin and is facing one count of torturing an animal.
