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Man Convicted Of Felony Animal Cruelty In Assault On Chihuahua

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- A jury convicted a south Sacramento man of felony animal abuse on Thursday after a family found an 8-month-old Chihuahua mix with severe injures to its rectum while in his possession earlier this year.

Parolee Robert Edward De Shields, who is confined to a wheelchair, was staying in a family's garage when one of the family members found the dog with him late at night in March and took the dog away from him, according to Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully.

The next day, the dog again went missing and was found with De Shields in the garage. The dog appeared lifeless and in shock, Scully said. Family members took the dog away from De Shields again and later discovered what turned out to be severe injuries to the dog's rectum as well as internal organs. They reported the incident to parole agents.

The dog received extensive medical care and survived its injuries, Scully said.

De Shields has spent most of his life in state prison since 1992. He has never remained out on parole longer than a five-month period except for the times when he was a parolee-at-large, Scully said.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9.

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