Update: Dude pleaded not guilty today. First posted at 12:04 p.m.

A 30-year-old from the Orange County armpit of Stanton faces an animal cruelty charge today after authorities said he slit the throat of his 7-year-old dachshund, Dexter, which succumbed to its injuries.

Not only that, but prosecutors say Jaime Arturo Garcia went nuts and set fires in his home.

The dog might have made it if it had just played dead:

Garcia is said to have fed it pills, but when Dexter continued to run around he got a kitchen knife and killed the pooch, which left a trail of blood to its deathbed, according to the filing.

The suspect also closed all the doors and windows to the residence he shared with his sister (she wasn't there) and started multiple fires and damaged cabinets in a laundry room, authorities said.

Finally, prosecutors say, he inflicted wounds on himself. First responders snuffed out the remains of the fire and took Garcia to a hospital.

This all happened July 24, authorities.

Garcia could see more than eight years behind bars if he's successfully prosecuted on charges of arson, animal cruelty and unlawfully causing a fire to property.

He remained behind bars on a quarter-million bail.

-With reporting from City News Service. Got news? Email us. Follow us on Twitter, too: @dennisjromero.

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