PORTAGE, Wisconsin—A Wisconsin man accused of killing a woman’s puppy with a hammer has been sentenced to nine months in jail.
Brandon Shearer, 32, of Portage learned his sentence on Sept. 20. He pleaded no contest in May to the mistreatment of an animal causing death, disorderly conduct and contacting a victim after a domestic abuse arrest. A no contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.
Prosecutors allege that Shearer killed the 6-month-old dog with a roofing hammer because he was upset it had urinated and defecated in the woman’s house.
A judge set several sentencing conditions for Shearer, including that he serve four years of probation, comply with treatment programs, undergo anger management counseling and maintain “absolute sobriety.”
Man Accused of Animal Cruelty After Cat Tests Positive for Meth
In another case of animal abuse in New Mexico, a man accused of choking and force-feeding methamphetamine to a cat has been charged with a felony count of animal cruelty, local police said.
Aaron Spaulding, 39, of Las Cruces, is already facing multiple felony accounts from a domestic incident.
Las Cruces police said they arrested Spaulding in June after he allegedly battered his girlfriend and held the woman against her will. Police learned that a verbal argument between the two escalated into physical violence, and Spaulding allegedly punched her multiple times and took away her cell phone.
While investigating the allegations, police learned that Spaulding was possibly neglecting his two pets—a dog and a cat.
Investigators suspected Spaulding may have been abusing the animal by squeezing and strangling it, and forcibly feeding it methamphetamines.
The cat was examined by a veterinarian, who concluded that the animal showed signs of neurological deficits. In addition, the cat’s blood test returned a positive result for methamphetamine.
Las Cruces police did not release the name of the cat but did say it received treatment and was ultimately adopted by another family.
