Lowell

Dog survives machete attack on his head, gets renamed Danny Trejo

Jeremy Collazo is being held without bail on an animal cruelty charge after allegedly hitting a dog in the head with a machete in Lowell, Massachusetts

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A man has been arrested after allegedly wounding a 1-year-old English bulldog with a machete. The dog was bloodied and had a slight skull fracture but is recovering well at the Lowell Humane Society, where they changed his name to refer to famous actor Danny Trejo. 

A dog is on the mend after being attacked with a machete in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The attack happened March 31 in a public housing building on Summer Street.

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The 1-year-old English bulldog — named Danny Trejo, after the actor — was rushed to an animal hospital for treatment after his head was struck with a machete.

"He did have a slight fracture to his skull," said Crystal Arnott, executive director at the Lowell Humane Society. "Thankfully, it did not go through and make any contact further through the skull."

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Jeremy Collazo, a 32-year-old homeless man from Lowell, was charged with animal cruelty. He is being held without bail.

According to court documents, Collazo claimed he was bit by the dog days earlier.

"It was probably one of the most traumatic things I've ever seen in this field," Arnott said. "I've been doing this for about 15-16 years, and I have not seen anything that gruesome."

The dog came into the Lowell Humane Society as "Sticks," but the rescue workers named him after the star of the film "Machete."

"We wanted to link him to his story, but we didn't want to be too on the nose, so we named him Danny Trejo," she said. "And so we'll let people figure that out what that means on their own."

A dog, now named Danny Trejo, seen at left after recovering and at right, bloodied in a machete attack.
NBC10 Boston | Handout
NBC10 Boston | Handout
A dog, now named Danny Trejo, seen at left after recovering and at right, bloodied in a machete attack.

The dog has a scar left over from this traumatic experience, but Sara Poole, a shift leader at the Lowell Humane Society, says he is full of energy and making an amazing recovery.

"He has been so sweet and playful, and so wonderful and amazing, to be honest," Poole said.

He will remain at the Lowell Humane Society during the investigation before being put up for adoption.

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