A 33-year-old Albert Lea man made his first appearance in Freeborn County District Court Wednesday related to two felony charges of mistreating a dog.

Michael Anthony Madrigal, who appeared in custody, was represented by public defender Kevin Rhea. He was in custody related to another charge.

He faces one count of mistreating an animal by means of torture and one count of mistreating an animal by cruelty.

According to court records, the mistreatment charges date back to an incident at the end of December 2008.

Documents state on Dec. 29, animal control officer Leah Stoltz responded to a call for assistance regarding a dog at 426 Garfield Ave. in Albert Lea. One file states an unknown caller reported that the dog in question “had apparently been hit in the head with something (which the caller thought was a hammer) and was missing an eye.”

A few hours later, a man brought a dog into the city animal shelter.

“The animal was described as an apricot female, bully breed mix with three legs,” reports state. “The right side of the dog’s face was swollen and very sensitive to the touch. Her right eyeball was filled with blood.”

Stoltz noted that the dog was not hesitant or nervous in her presence.

The dog’s owner, Heather Krumrie, later came into the shelter, reports stated. She explained that she and her boyfriend, Madrigal, were physically fighting with each other a few days earlier and the dog had gotten between the two of them.

She said she believed the dog was trying to protect her but ended up biting her instead of her boyfriend, according to documents.

Five days later there was another incident with the dog.

Court documents state Krumrie had gone out with her friends to various clubs and had come home early in the morning on Dec. 28 at about 6 a.m. When she got home, Madrigal became upset with her and jumped at her, reports state.

When he did that, the dog nipped at Madrigal.

Krumrie reportedly told an Albert Lea detective that after that happened, Madrigal then left them room and allegedly came back with a pole or a metal pipe. He allegedly swung the pole at the dog, hitting it several times. The dog then ran down into the basement.

Madrigal told investigators “something to the effect that the dog hadn’t been ‘right in the head’ since it was hit by a car a few months back. This was his explanation of why the dog attacked him and why he found it necessary to hit the dog in the head,” reports state.

The day after the incident, Krumrie took the dog to the Albert Lea Veterinary Clinic and asked that it be euthanized because it had bitten someone. The veterinarian, however, was reluctant to do so.

He knew the dog to be one with a “sweet disposition” and did not see aggressive tendencies in it.

“Dr. Smith noticed the injuries on the dog’s head,” court documents state. “He noted that it apparently could not see out of one of its eyes. He noted that there was soft tissue injury and that it was in considerable pain.”

Krumrie later took the dog to the shelter.

Madrigal later acknowledged in a statement to Stoltz and an Albert Lea detective that “he had gotten into an argument with Krumrie and that they were yelling in each other’s faces,” reports state.

He said the dog snipped at him, and he “grabbed a metal pole and came back upstairs and hit the dog with the pole,” according to the report.

Officers stated Madrigal stated “about an hour after he hit the dog, he whistled for it, and it came upstairs, and he sat with it on the couch feeling bad about what he had done to it.”

Madrigal has previously been charged in Freeborn County District Court for terroristic threats, drug possession, trespassing, assault, drunken driving and other traffic-related charges.

Each count of animal mistreatment carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.