SAGINAW — A Saginaw man is in jail after being accused of stabbing his neighbor’s Alaskan husky in the neck with a samurai sword on Sunday, police say.

The dog, Mekie, survived and is receiving care at a veterinarian clinic in Clare, said her owner, Joe Larry Jr. She could return home in Thursday, he said.

City police officers were called to 1607 N. Woodbridge on the city’s West Side about 6 p.m. Sunday and saw the dog inside with a puncture wound to its neck, said city police Detective Sgt. Joseph Dutoi.

“There are many people in this society that see dogs as family members, even as children,” Dutoi said. “This is very shocking and an unexplainable act.”

The suspect, 35-year-old Trenton John Rambo, remained jailed today. Rambo was arraigned Tuesday.

Larry, who has lived at the house since November, said he has never had problems with the neighbors before. As to Rambo, he said, “I’d never seen the man.”

He said he and his girlfriend were leaving the house when they heard 4-year-old Mekie, fenced in the backyard with Larry’s two other dogs, yelp and walk toward them. Larry said he spotted Rambo next to the fence holding a sharp object, “poking at the other dogs,” he said.

Mekie was stabbed “right through her trachea,” her owner said. The veternarians wanted to perform emergency surgery on her the night of the attack but had to wait because she was too weak from blood loss, Larry said.

Officers executed a search warrant at Rambo’s house Sunday and located a samurai sword in the living room, Dutoi said. Rambo denied knowledge of the incident and declined to speak with police about it, Dutoi said.

He is charged with a single count of killing or torturing an animal, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison or a fine of up to $5,000. If found guilty, he also could be ordered to pay veterinarian bills.

In arraigning Rambo, Saginaw County District Judge A.T. Frank entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and held him on a $15,000 cash or surety bond. Rambo is scheduled for a Jan. 27 preliminary hearing.