DOVER, Fla. — A Dover man confessed to Hillsborough County deputies that he stabbed a woman and her dog just before 9 p.m. on Thursday.
According to a news release, 40-year-old Joshua Mueller was arguing with a woman who was seated in a parked car outside a home near the intersection of Halima Road and Kirkland Road before becoming upset and smashing the woman's driver-side window with his fist.
He then is said to have gone inside the home to grab a large kitchen knife.
Mueller reportedly came back outside where he confronted the woman and slashed at her arms several times. During that time, the woman's dog came to her defense to which Muerller stabbed the dog's face and chest area, deputies said.
"This is a sad and reprehensible act of domestic violence and animal abuse that will not be tolerated in our county," Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. "While this individual cools off and faces the consequences of his violent actions, our heart goes out to the victim and their brave pup, and our deputies are working to get them the help they need to move forward.”
The 40-year-old is facing charges of aggravated cruelty to animals with a weapon and aggravated battery with a weapon with great bodily harm.
