A man is Benjamin Ashfordfacing felony charges after he allegedly stabbed a dog while her owner was playing pickleball at a North Carolina park. 

The suspect, 43-year-old James Wesley Henry, "eviscerated" the dog in an unprovoked attack on Monday afternoon, Asheville Police Department said in a statement on Facebook.

The dog's owner told responding officers that while she was playing pickleball, a man approached her dog, Beignet, grabbed her by the throat, and started slashing her with a knife. The dog later died from her injuries. 

Liesbeth Mackie, the dog's owner, also told The Asheville Watchdog that her 11-year-old dog was lying in the shade when her pickleball partner said, "Someone's beating your dog."

Asheville Police Capt. Michael Lamb told the paper that witnesses saw the man acting erratically before he "came over to the dog and started slashing at it with a knife."

The dog bit the man, but the man initiated the attack, police confirmed.

"I think for anyone, including the officers that responded, this would most certainly be a disturbing scene," Samantha Booth, the police department's public information officer, told CBS News. "Our hearts go out to the dog owner and family during this difficult time." 

The suspect was quickly identified by witnesses and arrested. He was booked into a detention facility on a $10,000 bond and charged with cruelty to animals, officials said. 

In:
• pickleball
• North Carolina
• Animal Cruelty

Michael Roppolo

Michael Roppolo is a CBS News reporter. He covers a wide variety of topics, including science and technology, crime and justice, and disability rights.

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