ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WNCN) – The Wilson County Sherriff’s Office is investigating a gruesome case of animal cruelty in Rocky Mount.

Jonathon Bulluck was charged with felony animal larceny and felony animal cruelty. The sheriff’s office said Bulluck killed and mutilated his aunt’s mastiff, “Tigger.” ​

According to the sheriff’s office, Bulluck was staying at his aunt’s Robbin Road home on Friday night. When his aunt returned home from work, Bullock claimed the dog jumped on a 2-year-old who was also at the house.

But, according to the sheriff’s office, Bullock’s aunt said the toddler wasn’t hurt.​

The dog was found dead on a dirt path down the road the following morning. The sheriff’s office said Bulluck stole the dog in the middle of the night, stabbed it to death, then used a chain saw to cut the dog in half and left it in a shallow grave.​

“That makes me want to cry because I do love animals,” said Melody Steed. She is a self-proclaimed dog lover who was visiting her aunt in the neighborhood. “I’ve never had any children, so it’s just terrible. My fur babies were always my children.”​

Mitchell Fox lives a few doors down from where it happened. Fox told CBS 17 he was outraged.

“I can’t say it on TV, but he definitely needs to be locked up,” he said.​

“They need to do something about him because he ain’t right in the head. He’s crazy,” said another neighbor. “He do that to a dog, what’s he gonna do to me?”​

Wilson County Sheriff Calvin Woodard released this statement to CBS 17:​

“This is the worst, isolated case of animal cruelty that I can recall. The suffering that the dog endured…it was like something out of a horror movie. This was just a heinous act from the beginning to the end. This was just down right, immorally wrong! The offender showed total disregard to his family and their love for ‘Tigger.’ This pet had the right to be home, not stolen, suffering and killed. I hope that peace and comfort will one day be obtained by the family who had to endure this tragic loss.”​

Bulluck is currently in the Wilson County Jail on a $20,000 bond.​