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SALT LAKE CITY — A LaVerkin man is facing an attempted murder charge after he allegedly stabbed a dog and the dog's owner because the animal had sniffed him.
Christian Logan McKusick, 27, was charged Monday in 5th District Court with attempted murder, a first-degree felony; unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon, a class A misdemeanor; and cruelty to animals, a class B misdemeanor.
The victim told police that McKusick was on a porch when his dog sniffed him, according to a booking report from the Washington County Jail, where he was taken following Saturday's incident.
"He stated Christian said something and he told Christian not to touch his dog. Christian pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed the dog," the report states.
The dog owner responded by pushing McKusick against a wall, "and Christian came straight down on his head with the knife. He then stated Christian then stabbed him in the neck," according to the report.
When interviewed by police, however, McKusick claimed the dog owner, his neighbor, had called him a derogatory name and the two got into a fight, the report states, and that he was defending himself. He then claimed that the dog owner initially had the knife, he took it away from him, and the dog owner "then forced himself onto the knife that McKusick was holding, cutting his own throat," the report states.
Both the dog owner and dog were treated for stab injuries. The owner said the veterinarian who treated his dog told him "if the stab wound would have been any deeper, the dog would have died," the report states.
McKusick was previously convicted of robbing a store in LaVerkin in one case and possession of a dangerous weapon in another in 2013, and sentenced to up to five years at the Utah State Prison. In 2011 he was sentenced to up to five years at the state prison for a conviction of theft by receiving stolen property.
Editor's note: An earlier version stated Christian Logan McKusick is facing a second-degree felony charge of attempted murder. The charge is a first-degree felony.
