KOKOMO, Ind. — A Kokomo man is accused of amputating his injured dog’s leg in order to avoid paying a vet bill.
Randy Barrett is charged with animal cruelty and resisting law enforcement.
Barrett’s dog, Royce, was hit by a car in March 2020 and injured. Barrett told police that Royce had been treated by a veterinarian for extensive injuries.
Over the course of the last several weeks, one of Royce’s legs developed gangrene and began to rot away. Barrett said he contacted a veterinarian for help, but he did not have enough money to get Royce treated. He told police that prompted him to investigate ways to amputate the dog’s leg himself.
On Jan. 26, Barrett “cleaned the leg with peroxide, shaved it, and rubbed it with alcohol” before cutting it off using a “new diamond blade Dremel” power tool. Barrett told police he did not give Royce anesthetic and that the dog “laid perfectly still and did not bark.”
Two days later, Barrett took Royce to a veterinarian, who described the leg as “an infected wound with a jagged cut bone.” Barrett told the veterinarian that he used a piece of heated steel to try and cauterize the wound, police said.
The veterinarian said Barrett’s attempt to cauterize the wound caused Royce “severe pain and discomfort.” Further, by doing this, Barrett did not leave enough skin for the veterinarian to be able to close the wound, allowing it to develop sepsis.
Barrett was arrested Feb. 9 and taken to the Howard County Jail.
Royce on Tuesday was in the care of the Kokomo Humane Society.
