Police: Man bought puppy then killed it with kitchen knife

WILSONVILLE, Ore. -- A Wilsonville man bought a Border Collie puppy then hours later stabbed and killed it, sheriff’s deputies said Monday.

Kevin Lee Slabaugh, 28, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree aggravated animal abuse. He made his first appearance by video on Monday afternoon in Clackamas County Circuit Court.

Slabaugh turned himself on Sunday morning in to Clackamas County sheriff’s deputies. He told a 911 dispatcher that he had killed the puppy with a knife the night before, deputies said.

He did not give a motive, but told deputies he had been drinking and taking prescription medications during the killing, according to a press release from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

Questioned at his apartment at Bridge Creek Apartments on Southwest Rose Lane, Slabaugh told deputies repeatedly that he had “bought it and killed it,” referring to a female 2 ½-month-old black Border Bounder puppy, according to the press release.

Deputies verified that Slabaugh had, in fact, purchased the puppy the night before from Critter Cabana pet store in Wilsonville for about $300.

Slabaugh killed the dog several hours after the purchase with a large kitchen knife, deputies said.

“Mr. Slabaugh showed the deputies where he had killed the puppy, as well as where he had hidden the dead body, the knife he had used in the crime, and the clothing he was wearing during the criminal incident,” the press release said.

Slabaugh's neighbor, Mel Barnes, said he saw deputies searching through the trash cans at the apartment complex.

"They went to the trash cans up there. They were looking for something," Barnes said. "the sheriff came back with something he found and put it in his car. What he found, I don't know."

Slabaugh is being held on $50,000 bail.

He declined a request for an interview.

KATU's Dan Cassuto contributed to this story.