Nebraska: Kelly Saxon, accused of beating and then abandoning his puppy, gets a week in jail for animal cruelty

NEBRASKA -- A judge sentenced a 25-year-old Lincoln man to seven days in jail Friday on an animal cruelty case for abandoning his pit bull puppy on a hot July day with no food or water.

Lancaster County Judge Matt Acton's sentencing order also banned Kelly G. Saxon from owning or living with any animal for five years.

Last summer, Saxon's girlfriend posted on Facebook asking for the community's help in finding 6-month-old Chief, saying Saxon had dumped him in the country without food or water. Another witness said Saxon had beaten the dog, but the witness didn't show up for court, said Lancaster County Attorney Joe Kelly.

The dog had been running loose for a couple of days before he was found with a red, swollen eye and abrasions caused by blunt-force trauma, Kelly said.

During the sentencing, Acton said investigators were unable to determine if Saxon was the cause of the blunt-force trauma, but said "when you abandon an animal in the country and that animal sustains injuries as a result of that abandonment, you should be held responsible for that."

Saxon later pleaded no contest to animal abandonment.

Now, the dog has a new owner and name: Chance.

"Seven days jail is good, paying court costs is OK, but not being able to own or live with any animals for five years was the best part of Saxon's sentence," said Laurie Colburn, who is associated with pet rescues in the area and attended Friday's sentencing.

(Journal Star - March 4, 2016)