INJUSTICE IN OREGON: Shaun Horey, 45, whose criminal history includes rape, burglary and assualt on an officer, gets 14 days in jail for beating and killing miniature Dachshund

OREGON -- A 47-year-old homeless man who killed a stranger's miniature dachshund in a fit of rage was sentenced this week to 14 days in jail and a probationary program that will connect him with mental health counseling.

Shaun K. Horey had gotten into an argument with the dog's owner over a coat on March 11 in Portland's Old Town.

Maria Amore, who was temporarily homeless at the time, told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday that someone had put the coat on her while she was sleeping. She said Horey walked up to her, demanded the coat back and she gave it to him.

"He wouldn't get out of my face, he was yelling at me," Amore said, adding that she is disabled and was sitting in her motorized scooter with her dog on her lap.

She said her tiny dog jumped up and bit Horey in her defense. She said Horey responded by fatally striking the dog on the head with either a 2x4 piece of wood or a baseball bat. Her dead dog, Rory, remained in her blood-covered lap for hours while she was in shock, she said.

The confrontation happened as Amore was picking up her mail at Transition Projects' Day Center, 650 N.W. Irving St.

Horey admitted to hurting the dog, but he wasn't clear about how he killed the dog. Horey's defense attorney, DeAnna Horne, said that no baseball bat was found. Horne also said the dog had bitten a police officer in the past -- although Amore disputes that.

Horey has already served about five months in jail since his July arrest. He's expected to be released Dec. 19, after serving roughly two more weeks.

During a Multnomah County Circuit Court hearing Monday, Horey pleaded no contest to first-degree aggravated animal abuse and was sentenced to the jail time and three years of probation. He'll serve his first 120 days in an intensive supervision program called the Multnomah County Justice Reinvestment Program that could help him find a place to live and get him anger management and mental health treatment.

Horey told authorities that he has paranoid schizophrenia. Horey also is prohibited from owning pets for 15 years.

Amore, the dog's owner, said she's grateful that Horey was prosecuted, but she's upset that he didn't get years in prison.

"I'm devastated," Amore said. "I cry every day."

Horey's criminal history includes first-degree rape in 1991, second-degree burglary and assaulting a police officer.

(Oregon Live - Dec 12, 2015)

Earlier:

• Portland man, Shaun K. Horey, accused of ‘maliciously’ killing dog