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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A teenager who pleaded guilty to severely beating a dog has been sentenced to probation in 3rd District Juvenile Court.
Judge Christine Decker on Thursday ordered the 17-year-old Riverton boy to attend individual and family therapy and undergo a drug and alcohol assessment.
The case of Ranger the dog was charged under Utah's revised Animal Torture Law, which makes some acts of animal torture felonies. Lawmakers passed the law in 2008.
Charging documents say two teenagers entered a family's home last summer to burglarize it. Court papers say Ranger, a 13-pound cocker spaniel-poodle mix, started to bark and one teen hit him twice with a baseball bat. The family returned from vacation to find Ranger in a pool of blood and having a seizure. He had severe head trauma but survived.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
