Man who slashed Winnipeg dog to face time behind bars

A man who stabbed a dog in Winnipeg last summer will spend 15 months in jail and have to cough up more than $1,000 to cover the animal’s care.

Alex Genaille, 20, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and a weapons charge.

A seven-year-old mastiff named Cooter suffered major injuries to its muzzle after Genaille used a large hunting knife to slash the dog’s face through a fence in the Lord Selkirk Park area.

Police say surveillance video showed one person left the group and returned to where the dog was standing. He put on a mask and gloves, pulled a knife and jammed the weapon through the fence, cutting the dog’s nose, before fleeing on a bicycle.

Crown prosecutor Alanna Hall said the dog was stabbed so severely that the wound went through his nose and snout and through to his teeth.