GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- The man accused of dragging a dog to its death last week at the Colorado National Monument appeared in court on Monday and was given a court-appointed attorney.

The appointment came after Steven Clay Romero, 37, told U.S. Magistrate Laird Milburn that his attorney "couldn't make it" to Monday's hearing, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. Romero has been held without bail since his arrest on Dec. 31.

He is accused of tying the dog -- a German shepherd-blue heeler mix named Buddy -- to his truck and dragging him for two miles with a rope tied around the dog's neck, according to the National Park Service. The dog died of strangulation and was dumped on a snowy shoulder of the roadside.

Prosecutors have said video surveillance from the west entrance station of the Monument showed a double-cab pickup truck entering the Monument at 2:18 a.m. on Dec. 30, with a dog in the bed of the truck. Cameras in the outbound lane showed the same truck leaving the Monument at 2:30 a.m. without the dog.

The dog's death sparked outrage and authorities arrested Romero a day later. An online petition called "Demand Justice For Buddy" has more than 13,170 members on Facebook. It said the group's goal is "to see to it that Steven Romero spends every single minute of those three years in jail and a fine of $100,000 plus the one year of mandatory parole."

Romero is being held without bond at the Mesa County Jail on suspicion of aggravated animal cruelty. At a hearing on Dec. 31, Romero expressed displeasure at being held without bond, and told the judge that he's an over-the-road trucker and his job supports his family.

"So, in other words I'll be sitting in jail and probably lose my job, too?" Romero asked Milburn.

"Yes," the magistrate responded.

At Monday's hearing, Romero told the judge he has had "problems" since he's been at the jail but didn't elaborate, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

“Pretty much everybody thinks I’ve done it,” Romero told the judge.

Romero will return before Milburn Thursday afternoon for a pre-trial conference and a detention hearing.