A Casper man accused of slitting a dog's throat and killing a guinea pig in November pleaded not guilty to two aggravated animal cruelty charges in Natrona County District Court Thursday.

Christopher Reed, 22, pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated animal cruelty.

An affidavit of probable cause alleges that police were called to an apartment in the 600 block of CY Avenue after a woman reported her roommate was upset and smashing things. Officers left after determining no one was in danger.

But police were called back to the apartment roughly an hour later after a neighbor heard screaming and a man saying he was going to slit someone's throat, the affidavit says. Officers found broken furniture, scattered clothes and garbage along with large amounts of blood spatter on the wall and pooling blood on the floor.

Officers also found a red dog collar in the blood and a dead guinea pig in a cage.

After searching the area, police found a medium-size border collie wrapped in a white garbage bag in a dumpster. The dog was bleeding from its throat and mouth, and when it saw officers, it began wagging its tail even though it was badly hurt.

The dog was taken to an animal hospital for emergency treatment.

Aggravated animal cruelty is punishable by up to two years behind bars, $5,000 in fines or both.

Shortly following the incident, Casper police warned that animal cruelty and violence against people go hand-in-hand. 

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