HILLSBORO, Ore. -- A man who used a machete and a Samurai sword to kill his neighbor's pit bull has been found innocent of aggravated animal abuse.

Jose Luis Ramirez, 39, of Aloha told jurors the pit bull came to his front yard and attacked his dog. Ramirez said he had to stop the fight with whatever he could get his hands on, starting with a tree limb.

"That dog would not even feel that I was hitting him," Ramirez said. After several blows with the machete, Ramirez said, he went inside his house, got a Samurai sword and stabbed the 90-pound pit bull in the stomach.

Prosecutor Judy Brant described Ramirez as an unapologetic liar in her closing statement. She said Ramirez's dog had two small bites on his neck, and there was no need to kill.

"A dog died for nothing," Brant said, her voice rising during her closing argument. Ramirez "knew his dog wasn't being killed and instead he did this," she continued, smacking the table with the machete.

"And he did this, and he kept doing it and doing it and doing it," Brant continued, loudly whacking the machete with each statement.

Kathleen Keenan, a veterinarian at DoveLewis Emergency Hospital in Portland, cried as she testified about the dog's injuries. She said he suffered between 10 and 15 slashing cuts and one puncture wound to his stomach that exposed tissue.

Ron Morgan, DoveLewis executive director, said that many of his staff "say these were some of the most traumatic injuries they have ever seen in their career."

 Background: Man admits killing neighbor's dog

Following Wednesday's verdict, the jury foreman told The Oregonian that the decision to exonerate Ramirez rested on a few key points. He noted that the pit bull came onto Ramirez's property, and several neighbors described the dog as aggressive and frightening.