Chris Barnett faces felony charges of aggravated animal cruelty for his treatment of Lucas after the dog apparently chewed on wire fencing near his home, WSMV-TV in Nashville reports.

At a preliminary hearing Tuesday in McMinnville, Tenn., testimony by a witness to the abuse brought representatives of the Warren County Humane Association to tears.

"You don't teach a dog not to chew by beating him and then filing his teeth off," said General Sessions Court Judge Larry Ross. "It was just a sadistic beating."

If convicted of aggravated animal abuse, Barnett could be sentenced to two years in prison and fined $3,000.

The district attorney says people from all over the country called in support of Lucas the dog.