LONGMONT, Colo. – A Longmont man is facing animal cruelty charges after allegedly kicking and killing his girlfriend’s puppy last weekend.
Jon Guthery, 37, was booked into Boulder County Jail early Thursday morning on suspicion of cruelty to animals, a class 6 felony.
An affidavit for his arrest states Longmont police received a call from a veterinary clinic about a puppy named Beau who died from suspicious injuries on April 26. The veterinarian who spoke with police said a woman brought the puppy and kept saying, “He kicked him.”
Exams done on the puppy showed he had contusions on his lungs and that he was in serious condition. The puppy died before he could be transferred to an emergency clinic.
A necropsy performed on the puppy showed he had significant trauma and bruising on several of his organs as well as a broken jaw, the affidavit stated.
Police went to the owner’s home and met with the woman.
She said she took the puppy to work and fed him peanuts and took him back home during her lunch hour, when it apparently got sick with diarrhea. She also told police that “maybe John (sic) gave him a little kick out of frustration about the diarrhea.”
Minutes later, police spoke with Guthery, who said he had just been in the hospital from trying to get off meth. When asked about the puppy, he told police he didn’t remember doing anything to the puppy, but remembered his girlfriend coming home “and asking what had happed to the dog,” arresting documents state.
Friends of Guthery would later tell police they went over to his house after they had been called by other friends who stated “John (sic) was having issues.” One of Guthery’s friends told police he admitted to kicking the puppy.
The suspect’s bond was set at $1,000 after an advisement hearing. He is next due in court on May 7 for the formal filing of charges.
