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Landlord Avoids Jail In Dog Beating

MARTINEZ, Calif. (AP) -- A Richmond landlord charged with beating a dog so badly that the animal lost its eyesight and suffered brain damage has avoided jail time by pleading no contest in the case.

The Contra Costa Times reports that a judge on Thursday sentenced 65-year-old Sharon Sayler to 180 days of home detention and three years of probation after she agreed to plead no contest to two counts of felony animal cruelty and one count of felony grand theft.

Prosecutors say during an incident in January 2010 Sayler used a thick tree branch to beat a miniature pinscher belonging to a family in her Richmond duplex.

After the beating, prosecutors say Sayler put the dog in a plastic bag, threw it in the trunk of he car and led the owners on a chase.

The dog was saved when a police officer forced opened the trunk and pulled the injured dog from the bag.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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