An Austin man accused of dogfighting pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of mistreating animals Thursday in Mower County District Court.

Douglas Seidel, 26, was arrested Oct. 6 after police visited his home following animal abuse complaints.

Police found a dead pit bull on the property and took two other pit bulls into custody. The dead dog allegedly had puncture wounds which appeared to be from another dog, according to a court complaint.

A victim told police she had stayed with Seidel for a few days along with her dog, which was dead. Seidel told her and police that someone broke in, let the dogs out of their kennels and made them fight, which Seidel said they normally didn’t do. The victim said she wanted to take the badly injured dog to the vet, but Seidel allegedly said he could treat the dog, according to the complaint. The dog died the next day.

Witnesses later found a text message allegedly from Seidel where he admitted to kiling the dog. Officers also found equipment that is commonly used for dogfighting.