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Last updated on Sunday, August 26, 2012
(INDIANAPOLIS) - A puppy that was stabbed nine times with a kitchen knife for eating cat food is doing better after undergoing emergency surgery Friday.
Police said John Madden, 22, got angry, grabbed a kitchen knife and took the 8-week-old puppy outside, where he began stabbing him.
Madden, who police said told them he was trying to put the dog out of its misery, was arrested Friday.
When the puppy was taken to the Holt Road Pet Hospital, he was lifeless, covered with blood and in shock.
Jeffrey Herr, the vet who performed the emergency surgery, said he first noticed the puppy had what looked like extruding intestine or abdominal fat, and he said it was difficult to assess the injuries because there was so much blood.
Herr's office manager Debbie Curts said she was shocked by what she saw.
"This is like hurting a child, and he fought so hard and in 40 minutes he was trying to bond with us, and it just breaks your heart," Curts said.
Curts and the other staff have nicknamed the puppy "Miracle."
After cleaning the wounds and stabilizing the dog, Herr took the puppy home with him overnight in case he needed to be euthanized. But Herr said the puppy was doing better Saturday.
Marcus Brown from Indianapolis Animal Care and Control said this incident is an example of why stiffer penalties are needed.
"We're attempting to ... make the courts understand it's just as important to enforce the laws of animals, and they need to be looked at just as we treat each other," Brown said.
Animal Care and Control is setting up a special fund - the "Miracle Fund" - for people who want to donate toward the puppy's medical expenses.
Donations can be made online at www.FriendsOfIndyACC.org and selecting the "Miracle Fund" on the donation form or by mail at 2600 S. Harding Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46221 care of "Miracle."
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