PALM COAST, Fla. – A former Flagler County School Board member stabbed and killed a pit bull Tuesday evening after he said it attacked his dog, which was not injured, according to deputies.
Richard Marier, 68, of Palm Coast, was arrested on charges of felony animal cruelty and carrying a concealed weapon in the commission of a felony.
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According to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, Marier said the pit bull charged his Shiba Inu, named Breenie, bit the dog's neck and shook it viciously.
Deputies said Marier pulled out a spring-loaded knife with a blade longer than three inches and stabbed the five-year-old pit bull, named Lala, five times, killing the dog.
Lala's owner, Carlos A. Matos Jr. told deputies that his dog approached Breenie but did not lunge at the dog.
"They were just smelling each other. Doing what dogs do. The guy just lost it and started yelling," Matos said.
A witness said Lala ran from the home, but he didn't see her attack Marier's dog, according to deputies.
The wounded pit bull walked back inside the home to the bedroom where she died moments later in front of Matos' two sons who were desperately trying to save Lala.
"I felt like a bad dream. I kept trying to put bandages on her but they kept slipping off because of the blood," Joshua Rodriguez, Matos' 14-year-old son said.
Flagler County deputies said Breenie had no injuries or bite marks.
Marier refused to answer our questions when we stopped by his home Wednesday.
Marier, who was elected to the school board in 1994, served one term before being defeated in his re-election bid.
Marier was booked into the Flagler County jail and was later released on bond.