HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – A Hamtramck man has been charged with amputating the leg of his 7-year-old Labrador retriever at his home, the Michigan Humane Society announced.
Charles Wofford is accused of amputating the dog's lower back right leg using garden shears, a steak knife and toothache medicine.
The incident is alleged to have happened the morning of April 25. A concerned citizen called the Michigan Humane Society, leading investigators to seize the dog at a home near Holbrook Avenue and Conant Street, according to officials.
"He had got into a fight, and he got gangrening inside his leg," Wofford told Local 4 in April.
Wofford said he couldn't afford to pay for surgery, so he took matters into his own hands by cutting off the part of the leg that was affected.
"I was able to do it," Wofford said. "I had a clean steak knife. I actually cut it on the bone. He wasn't in any pain at all."
Wofford said that given the circumstances, he thought it was the right thing to do.
Michigan Humane Society workers amputated the rest of the dog's back right leg within 24 hours. The procedure was followed by a month of recuperation, officials said.
"The Michigan humane society has come out here," Wofford said. "At first I was trying to hide the fact that I did this, but I did come clean with them."
Officials renamed the dog Mackinac and placed him with a family on June 2, but his behavior worsened and the dog became a danger to himself and others, according to the Michigan Humane Society.
Mackinac was returned to the Michigan Humane Society and humanely euthanized Aug. 4.
Michigan Human Society cruelty investigators submitted a warrant request to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, and charges were approved.
Wofford is charged with one felony count of torturing an animal and one misdemeanor count of cruelty to one animal.
Wofford was arrested Monday by Hamtramck police and arraigned in 31st District Court. A probable cause conference is scheduled for Nov. 8.
You can watch Local 4's previous coverage in the videos below. WARNING: Some of the photos are graphic.