Man accused of killing woman’s dog with hammer gets 9 months

PORTAGE, Wis. – A Wisconsin man accused of killing a woman’s puppy with a hammer has been sentenced to nine months in jail.

Thirty-two-year-old Brandon Shearer, of Portage, learned his sentence on Friday. He pleaded no contest in May to the mistreatment of an animal causing death, disorderly conduct and contacting a victim after a domestic abuse arrest. A no contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

Prosecutors allege that Shearer killed the 6-month-old dog with a roofing hammer because he was upset it had urinated and defecated in the woman’s house.

A judge set several sentencing conditions for Shearer, including that he serve four years of probation, comply with treatment programs, undergo anger management counselling and maintain “absolute sobriety.”