Danny Jay Webber, 50, received a suspended sentence of about a year in jail with two and a half years of supervised probation to follow. He will not serve the suspended sentence unless he violates his probation.
He pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals and killing an animal by starvation.
Assistant District Attorney Bill Bozin said as a special condition of his sentence, Webber must serve 120 days in jail.
He also cannot own any animals during those two and a half years.
Webber originally had a plea date in February, but when he showed up to court drunk, he was found in contempt and a new date was scheduled, Bozin said.
Webber cannot own any pets during his probationary period.
Bozin said on Sept. 22, 2012, Cleveland County Animal Control responded to an animal abuse complaint in Shelby.
"They arrived at Mr. Webber’s residence and discovered a deceased pit bull mix," he said. " The dog had clearly been starved based on its emaciated appearance."
Webber confirmed the dog, named Spot, was his, Bozin said.
"Spot was tethered to a tree with a small chain that was looped around his neck as a collar," Bozin said. "A dog bowl was located with what appeared to be rain water and moldy dog food."
He said the dog had been left chained up, dead, for so long maggots were crawling on its head.
Webber surrendered a second dog to the care of Cleveland County Animal Control.
"This kind of depraved treatment of animals is unacceptable," Bozin said. "If an individual cannot take care of an animal, the proper action is to call Animal Control or the Humane Society. Letting a dog starve to death while tethered to a tree on a chain is a felony offense and our office will continue to prosecute offenders to the full extent of the law."
(Shelby Star - April 5, 2013)
