The specter of animal cruelty has once again darkened doorways in Texas, with two unnerving incidents unfolding in Richmond and Harris County. In Richmond, a particularly gruesome scene as Pengfei Ji, 31, allegedly inflicted fatal injuries upon a teacup pomeranian during a dispute with his wife. Fort Bend Precinct 1 Constable deputies arrived in response to an urgent call at a veterinarian clinic on Friday, where the mortally wounded animal was brought in.

Surveillance footage, according to Click2Houston, showed Ji grabbing the dog by its hind legs and to then cruelly swing and slam it into a dog house multiple times. The pitiable creature was pronounced dead at the clinic. Ji now faces a third-degree felony charge of cruelty to non-livestock animals and was taken to Fort Bend County Jail. "This just leaves me speechless," Constable Chad Norvell was quoted by Click2Houston. "I’m glad we were able to put him in jail and that he’ll face justice for his horrendous actions."

Meanwhile, on a distressingly similar note, one Jared Marshall was arrested in Harris County on animal cruelty charges. In a harrowing call for help, a woman reported her ex-boyfriend had shot one of their dogs amidst an eviction process. The woman had fled their shared house in fear, managing only to take one dog with her.

FOX26 Houston reports that upon arrival, deputies discovered the grim aftermath. Marshall admitted to shooting three dogs, claiming they would be "too much to handle after his eviction." Authorities located one uninjured dog in a cage, two injured but alive, and unearthly, discovered a fourth dog deceased inside a plastic bag. The weapon was found in the living room, loaded and foreboding. "Following consent from the caller to enter the property to examine the other dogs," FOX26 Houston details, one dog was found dead, two others injured but alive. Marshall faces two counts of cruelty to non-livestock animals, which are third-degree felonies, and was booked into Harris County Jail.