Man avoids jail in dog collar case

CEDAR CITY, Utah, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A Utah man has pleaded no contest to using electric dog collars on his young sons.

A judge gave Scott Dover of Cedar City a suspended jail sentence for two counts of misdemeanor child abuse, imposed 18 months of probation and ordered him to pay a $2,500 fine, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Dover also was ordered to take parenting classes.

Dover was originally charged with felony child neglect.

The Utah Department of Family and Child Services referred the case to police in 2006 after getting a tip that Dover was using the dog-training devices as a punishment for his sons, who were 5 and 6 at the time.

Dover also was reported after his arrest to have told his sons he was going to prison because they had been bad.