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A Neptune man has admitted he stabbed a dog in the chest during an altercation with its owner in December, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Altarik Cullum, 27, of Neptune, pleaded guilty on Friday, March 22, to one count of animal cruelty in front of Asbury Park Municipal Court Judge Daniel J. DiBenedetto, according to the release.

The charges arose from an incident on Dec. 15, 2012, when Cullum was involved in an altercation with the dog’s owner on Mattison Avenue, between Langford and Comstock streets, in Asbury Park. At the time, Asbury Park Police Chief Mark Kinmon characterized the dispute as a family argument.

During the squabble between Cullum and his father, Cullum “pulled out a steak knife and threatened his father,” Kinmon said. The dog, which belonged to Cullum’s brother, ran toward Cullum, Kinmon said, at which point Cullum stabbed the dog with the steak knife. The dog sustained injuries, but no people present were hurt, Kinmon said.

The dog, an American Staffordshire Terrier, also known as a pit bull, was transported to the Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey, where the dog underwent emergency surgery, the release states, attributing the information to Chief Humane Law Enforcement Officer Victor “Buddy” Amato of the Monmouth County SPCA.

Amato credited the veterinary staff at Popcorn Park Zoo with saving the dog’s life, according to the release.

Cullum was sentenced to pay over $2,000 in fines and restitution related to the animal cruelty charge, according to the release.

Cullum also was charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and unlawful possession of weapons at the time of his arrest, Kinmon said in December.

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