CONCORD, N.H. - Skadi is Adam Callahan's best friend, as any dog is to its owner.
Police in Concord, New Hampshire, said a man high on meth hit 4-year-old Skadi, Callahan's therapy dog with a bag and then threatened to stab her.
Callahan, who served in the Army in Iraq from 2004 to 2010, adopted Skadi for help with tasks related to PTSD and TBI.
"She's my best buddy," said Callahan. "I'm a combat veteran, she performs tasks for me that are related to PTSD and TBI specifically."
On Monday afternoon, Callahan had just finished grocery shopping at the Market Basket on Storrs Street in Concord.
"We were coming out of market basket after our food shopping," said Callahan. "I called for a taxi, and we usually take a cab back."
Callahan says it was then that a man named Chris Paquette approached him and asked for a cigarette, but Callahan said he didn't have any.
"He started saying something again, mumbling and cursing a little bit," said Callahan.
CONCORD, NH: Army Veteran takes his therapy dog w/him everywhere. He walked out of a Market Basket, & was confronted by a man high on meth. Suspect hit the dog with his backpack, & threatened to stab the pup. Story at 10p. pic.twitter.com/29dNzRQhjF
— Malini Basu (@WFXTMalini) June 28, 2018
In an effort to appease Paquette, Callahan offered him his cab, feeling as though the man wasn't OK and seemed upset.
At that point, however, the cab driver kicked Paquette out of the car, prompting a furious response which he took out on Skadi.
Paquette then hit the dog with a bag.
"He hit the dog with a bag and I said 'don't hit my dog with [that] bag,'" said Callahan.
It was then that Paquette allegedly pulled out a knife and threatened to harm her.
"He said, 'I'll stab you, or kill you,'" said Callahan.
Police eventually showed up and arrested Paquette. According to authorities, he was high on meth, something police say they're used to dealing with.
"New Hampshire has had one of the worst [meth epidemics] in the country, [and] Concord is no stranger to that," said Concord NH Police Officer Sean Ford.
A source told Boston 25 News police have had to deal with Paquette at least 100 times in the past 10 years or so.
He was arrested and charged with animal cruelty and has been released.
In Concord, there have been 70 overdoses and 7 deaths this year alone.
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