CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / MISSION VIEJO
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An 8-month-old puppy was stabbed seven times with a sword inside a Mission Viejo apartment, authorities said Thursday.
Azure, a female Staffordshire terrier, suffered multiple wounds to her head and abdomen but survived after treatment, said Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino.
The dog was attacked Tuesday during an argument between Justin Carrafield, 26, and a woman who may have been his girlfriend or ex-wife, Amormino said. Carrafield assaulted the woman and stabbed the dog, he said.
Carrafield was arrested on suspicion of cruelty to animals, battery and marijuana cultivation. He is in Men’s Central Jail in Santa Ana on $20,000 bail.
The woman sustained minor injuries, while Azure was taken to urgent care and transferred Wednesday morning to Alicia Pet Care Center in Mission Viejo.
The center began a fundraising campaign Wednesday to raise money to treat Azure, who is on pain medication and antibiotics and will stay at Alicia for an undetermined amount of time. As of Thursday evening, $1,100 had been donated.
-- Corina Knoll
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