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PITTSBURGH (AP) — The trial was expected to continue for a Pittsburgh woman charged with stealing a cancer-stricken man's dog, whose attorney says she was justified in having the animal euthanized.
The defense attorney for 58-year-old Gisele Paris doesn't dispute that she removed a Siberian husky named Thor from the Pittsburgh backyard of Mark Boehler, who is diagnosed with stage 3 esophageal cancer.
But defense attorney Robert Mielnicki contends Paris believes she was "justified in everything she did" because she believed the dog was suffering and neglected when it was taken on Thanksgiving 2013.
Boehler acknowledges the dog had health problems, but denied the animal was suffering. Police determined that Paris paid a veterinarian to euthanize the dog in February.
Testimony on theft, cruelty to animals and other charges was expected to continue Friday afternoon.
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