Cumberland puppy euthanized after maiming

Deputies said Cory Lashan Price was arguing with his girlfriend last Tuesday when she told him to leave. Price then grabbed their pit bull puppy as he walked out the door, tossed it in the air and impaled it in the side with a knife, authorities said.

"I just can't believe anyone would have the heart to do something like that," said Debbie Tanna, spokeswoman for the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office.

Price's girlfriend declined to comment Monday.

Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Price, 26, of 2210 Caramel Drive, charging him with felony animal cruelty. He wasn't in custody as of Monday evening.

Cumberland County Animal Control officers found the puppy hiding under the back steps to the home. The animal was taken to Southern Oaks Animal Hospital in Hope Mills, where it was euthanized because of its extensive injuries.

"We got a lot of calls. People who didn't know the dog had been euthanized wanted to adopt it," Tanna said.

This is the second case of animal cruelty in Cumberland County in recent months in which a pit bull puppy was harmed in a domestic dispute. The other puppy, which was set on fire in July, recovered and was adopted by a Raleigh family last month.

"People get angry when you hurt a child or animal or senior adult," Tanna said.

Anyone who knows of Price’s whereabouts is asked to call the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office at 910-323-1500 or the anonymous TIPSLINE at 484-TIPS (8477).