Three months for man who killed his dog

The Aberdeen man charged with the brutal murder of his dog last August was sentenced to three months in jail on Monday.

John Trafford Robinson, 27, was sentenced in Superior Court on first-degree animal cruelty charges after he stabbed his dog with a stake and then hit the animal over the head with a board on Aug. 21, causing the dog’s death.

Court documents state Robinson, who has been diagnosed as schizophrenic, told police the dog told him to kill it.

As part of the sentence, Robinson will be monitored by the state Department of Corrections for 12 months after he serves his three-month jail term. Robinson, who is a first time offender, was ordered by Judge Dave Edwards to undergo a mental health evaluation while incarcerated.

The court-ordered mental health evaluation comes after Robinson underwent competency “restoration” at Western State Psychiatric Hospital in Lakewood, a program that uses medication and therapy to make sure offenders are ready to stand trial.

Robinson told police he took the dog for a walk around 11 p.m. on Aug. 19 near the railroad tracks and then stabbed the dog with a stake he found before tying it to a fence post nearby. Robinson left the dog and then came back to find it was still alive, at which point he hit the dog over the head with a board to make sure it was dead, according to court documents.

Robinson told police the dog “looked up at me said, “This isn’t how I am going to go,” before he ended its life with the board. Days earlier, according to court documents, Robinson said he had “put the family dog down because “the dog had told him to.”

Robinson did not speak during the sentencing, but Edwards made it clear he was troubled by what Robinson had done.

“I believe you are an extremely dangerous person,” he said to Robinson.