A 37-year-old man has been released on bail after being charged with animal cruelty for allegedly stabbing a four-year-old labrador to death in front of its owner in Perth.
Luna was being exercised off-leash on Wednesday evening at Apple Blossom Polyantha Reserve, north of Perth, when her owner Bridgette noticed the man kneeling over her.
"Within a split second Luna was on the floor, I thought she was just submitting, wanting to play," the dog's 22-year-old owner said, the ABC reports.
"The man's bent down, I didn't hear any snarls, growl, yelps or barks, I thought everything was fine."
Brigitte then approached the man to make sure that Luna wasn't bothering his smaller tan dog.
"I get closer and I realise she is on the floor, blood all over her and I just drop and start screaming and screaming," she said.
"I picked her up and laid her on top of me to feel for her heart but I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't feel her breathing, she was gone within seconds.
"Luna was my baby -- she was my first dog."
The alleged attacker is due to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on 15 June.
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