TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A man has been arrested, accused of mutilating his dog.
Fritzner Julien, 21, was arrested on Wednesday for animal cruelty, which is a first degree misdemeanor.
According to a probable cause document, an officer was called to 500 Chapel Drive on Oct. 8 about an animal. Notes say the caller told the officer that their neighbor had been beating a dog for about 15 minutes.
After meeting with the complainant, the officer went over to Fritzner Julien's apartment. The officer noted that immediately after opening the door, Julien asked if the officer was there about the dog.
When the officer finally saw the dog, the officer noticed that it had a fresh, half inch long cut on its shoulder. Documents say the cut was actively bleeding.
Julien told the responding officer that he was lying in bed when he woke up because his dog had defecated in the bed. He said he then shoved the dog off of him and tried to drag it to the bathroom so he could bathe it.
He claimed the dog may have been cut when he pushed it off the bed.
Next day, according to the report, another officer followed up at Julien's apartment. As Julien opened the door, however, the officer noticed an open wound on the dog's shoulder and a wound on the bridge of its nose.
When asked about the injuries, Julien told the officer that it was possible the dog fell on glass when he fell off the bed.
Documents say the officer also noticed several other wounds that appeared to be in different states of healing. When asked about how those happened, Julien replied "I don't know."
Before leaving, the officer took pictures of the dog and issued a notice to comply for Julien to get medical care for the dog within 48 hours.
Two days later, an investigator followed up with Julien. Documents say that upon opening the door, Julien told the investigator he hadn't taken the dog to the vet.
This time, documents say that there were bloody sores on the dog's ear in addition to the other injuries. When asked about the new wounds, Julien said the dog's skin just started coming off.
"When [the investigator] asked about the new and old wounds," probable cause documents say, "[Julien] stated, 'If I burned the dog you would know.'" The investigator noted in the report that nothing was previously said about him burning the dog.
Documents say the investigator tried to encourage Julien to surrender the dog to Animal Control so it could receive medical treatment, but he refused. He eventually told investigators to take the dog, but refused to surrender the dog.
When the dog was examined by a veterinarian, the doctor reported that the dog had multiple lacerations and possible burn wounds that were between four and 14 days old.
Based on the assessment, the doctor indicated that the dog had been the victim of animal cruelty/neglect.
A warrant was signed for Julien's arrest on Monday and he was arrested at his apartment on Wednesday.
