A Kingston man will spend five-to-seven years in state prison for giving his dog fentanyl and then stabbing it to death with grill prongs.
Jonathan Paluzzi, 45, killed his dog, a 60-pound bull terrier mix named Brutus, in a "hideous" way in January, police said. He pleaded guilty last week in Plymouth Superior Court to two counts of animal cruelty and two counts of intimidation of a witness.
On Jan. 31, police responded to a 911 call at a Kingston apartment complex for a report of "shuffling, crying, yelling, a dog whining and a statement similar to 'don't touch me!'" followed by silence from a neighboring apartment.
Based on the investigation, police determined Paluzzi first gave his dog fentanyl with the intention of poisoning him. When that didn't kill him, Paluzzi stabbed him to death. Police said they found a set of bent grill prongs suspected to be the weapon.
Paluzzi was "well-known to law enforcement in the region," police said.
Investigators discovered Paluzzi had previously tried to euthanize Brutus via veterinary means, but was refused because the dog was in good health.
Brutus's body was taken by the MSPCA-Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston for post-mortem examination. Toxicology results revealed the presence of fentanyl in his system.
"The hideous nature of this case has the undivided attention of the assigned investigators," Kingston police said at the time of Paluzzi's arrest.
Paluzzi's attorney, Krysten Condon, previously told the Boston Globe the case was a matter of mental health issues.
"If he'd had some mental health treatment, maybe we wouldn't be in this position," she said.