Palm Coast man facing felony after choking one of his dogs to death, report says

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3 days ago

A Palm Coast man was arrested after he choked on his dogs to death after it attacked one of his chihuahuas. The man had completed an anger management class in a previous case in which he reportedly punched a neighbor who had agitated his dogs.
Howard Taft Blair, 55, was charged with felony cruelty to animals, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Blair was booked into the Flagler County jail on Thursday where he remained Saturday on $2,500 bond, according to online jail records.
The investigation began after Blair's wife called the sheriff's office asking for a deputy to stand by at the home while she picked up her belongings Jan. 24. The wife said she was leaving Blair after what happened the night before.
While the deputy stood by, Blair, who smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes, began speaking, the affidavit stated. He told the deputy that he and his wife owned five dogs which all lived inside the house. He said one of the dogs, Nutmeg, was a 60-pound mix between an American bulldog and a Labrador.
Blair also said they had three teacup chihuahuas named Jackson, Pico and Squirrel and another small mixed-breed dog.
Blair said after he and his wife finished dinner, he put his plate on the floor so the dogs could finish the gravy. But then Jackson, the chihuahua, growled at 60-pound Nutmeg, causing Nutmeg to attack Jackson. The chihuahua suffered fatal injuries, according to the affidavit.
Blair said Nutmeg had 'gotten ahold' of Jackson once before, but had not caused as much damage as this time.
Blair said he separated Nutmeg from Jackson and then chased Nutmeg back into the living room. Blair then choked Nutmeg to death, the affidavit stated. Then he buried her under a slab in the backyard.
Blair said about Nutmeg, 'there was no spanking her and putting her in the crate, it was that moment emotion,' the affidavit stated.
Blair said his wife had asked why he didn't instead put Nutmeg in a crate. Blair said he had contacted a vet about 'behavioral euthanasia' but due to the violence, he could not wait to take her to a vet, the affidavit stated.
The report noted that Blair had separated Nutmeg and she was no longer a threat to Jackson or any of the other dogs but Blair still choked her to death next to her crate.
Deputies asked the wife if Blair had 'violent tendencies' and she said told them 'typically he does not and he is a very loving person, but this was cruel and sick.'
The dog's body was not retrieved, the affidavit stated.
Blair was arrested in 2019 on a less serious misdemeanor charge.
In that case, a neighbor said Blair "sucker punched" him during a disagreement over the neighbor's mother-in-law, according to a charging affidavit. The neighbor "admitted to purposely agitating" Blair's dogs, the affidavit stated. He said Blair told him to leave and as he did, Blair struck him in the face, the affidavit stated.
Blair told police that the neighbor had been stirring up and making gestures at his dogs, causing them to bark, the affidavit stated. Blair admitted to hitting the neighbor.
Blair entered a deferred prosecution agreement in which he successfully completed an eight-hour anger management class. Prosecutors then dropped the battery charge against him.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida man kills his dog after it attacks his chihuahua, report says