( CNN ) -- Onyx was 9 months old , black and white , part dachshund and part chihuahua . She was a family dog , one that Mandy Malone kept in part to play with her grandchildren . Until Onyx ended up in Malone 's freezer . How did she get there ? According to a criminal complaint filed in a Torrance County , New Mexico , court , the dog was stabbed in the heart and skinned . Parts of the animal were then buried in the backyard , while others were stashed inside a bag in a freezer . `` He had her marinating in Italian dressing in the fridge , '' Malone told CNN affiliate KOAT . `` ... What could possibly go through someone 's mind to do something that sick ? '' Authorities characterized the man they say killed the dog as Malone 's boyfriend . Salvador Martinez was released Wednesday on bond tied to the felony charge of extreme cruelty to animals , Torrance County Sheriff Heath White said . The sheriff predicted he would n't be free for long . `` He was already on probation for trafficking drugs and ... violated his probation , so he 's likely going to be picked back up ... and sent back to a federal facility , '' White said Wednesday . Martinez 's latest legal trouble began Friday , July 18 , when sheriff 's deputies responded to a call at an Edgewood , New Mexico , residence . They found a gray plastic bag `` containing some bones and meat ( that ) appeared to be a carcass of an animal , '' the complaint said . Authorities said Martinez admitted he had killed the dog , saying there was no food around and his girlfriend `` told him to go ahead '' and do it . After killing the animal , skinning it and burying parts of it in the yard , `` he said that he ... found ( a ) recipe for dogs online '' and found states where eating dogs is allowed , the complaint says . New Mexico is one such place ; in fact , there are no laws against eating cats or dogs in most states . In some cultures , it 's more widely accepted . `` But it 's the manner that it was done , and the emotional stress it put on the rest of the family , that led us to arrest him and charge him with animal cruelty , '' White said . Martinez could not be reached for comment and it was unclear late Wednesday if he had an attorney . The girlfriend told the deputies that Martinez admitted killing the dog around noon of that day , explaining `` it was all right to do this in New Mexico to feed your family . '' She disputed the assertion that they did n't have food in the house . Malone told KOAT that Martinez had previously told her , `` just out of the blue , ' I 'm going to barbeque one of your dogs . ' '' But she did n't believe it -- then or now . `` Nobody knows what to think , '' Malone said .
New Mexico authorities found parts of a dead chihuahua , dachshund , in a freezer . They say a man admitted killing the animal for use as food . Eating meat is legal in New Mexico and many other states . Sheriff : Not filed due to how it was done , depending on family .