Police: Man Slashes Owner’s Dog; Animal Loses Eye

A prejudiced pooch that reportedly disliked minorities was slashed last night by a black man who had grown tired of the dog’s incessant barking at him, police said.

The German Shepherd lost an eye, and the alleged slasher–who worked for an oil delivery business where the dog stood guard–was arrested on a felony aggravated cruelty charge.

Andrew Owens, 58, was arraigned this morning in City Court after spending the night in jail.

“The dog reacts to black people, Hispanics, anyone who is not white,”_owner Paul Tocco said. “She always barked at him. He (Owens) was well aware the dog didn’t like him, and he knew to stay away from her.”

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Last night, he “egged on” the barking dog and charged at her, Detective Ken Ross III said. He allegedly then pulled out a nine-inch folding knife.

“He taunted her with his arm, raised his arm with a knife and slashed the dog across the face,” he said. “He cut the dog over the right eye, all the way down to the eye socket bone.”

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Rather than going after Owens, Tocco placed Jenna [the dog] in a work van and drove her to a Greenburgh animal hospital. A veterinarian performed emergency surgery, but the eye couldn’t be saved, Ross said. Today, the dog was transferred to an animal hospital in Scarsdale.

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Tocco said he will never allow Owens to work there again. “We don’t want him around here anymore,” he said.