Man accused of killing dog with a hatchet

A judge found probable cause to believe 29-year-old Nicholas R. Anderson committed animal cruelty.

A Freeland man in a mental health crisis is accused of killing a dog with a hatchet on Thanksgiving, according to court documents.

During a telephonic court hearing Nov. 29, an Island County Superior Court judge found probable cause existed to believe 29-year-old Nicholas R. Anderson committed the crime of animal cruelty in the first degree.

The judge ordered Anderson held in jail in lieu of a $5,000 bail bond.

According to a report by a deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office, a resident called 911 on Nov. 25 and reported that Anderson killed his dog with a hatchet during a suspected psychotic breakdown at a Freeland area home. Anderson had been saying someone was trying to kill him, the caller reported.

Anderson was standing on the front porch and covered in blood when law enforcement arrived. He was silent and taken into custody, the report indicates.

The deputy looked through the window of Anderson’s home and saw the small dog laying in a pool of blood, with a bloody hatchet and knife laying next to it, his report states.

Deputies applied for a search warrant for the home.

The man who called the police told officers that Anderson had the dog for five years and will be devastated when he realizes what he did, the deputy wrote.