Texas man gets 12 years in prison for stomping, throwing puppy

March 2 (UPI) -- A Texas man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for violating his probation when he stomped and threw a puppy, which then had to be euthanized because of its injuries.

Andrew Callaway, 27, pleaded guilty to cruelty to non-livestock animals and was sentenced to two years in prison on that charge. But Callaway was on probation for a previous drug conviction and Judge Mark Rusch sentenced him to 10 years for violating that probation.

Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said the sentenced proves "It's not okay to hurt an animal."

"The sense out there in our community, I think this is a true across the nation, is that animal cruelty will be tolerated there's no excuse for it and can't be tolerated," Willis said, according to CBS DFW. "So we need to send a strong message to people out there who abuse or hurt animals."

Callaway was arrested in May 2017 after witnesses reported him after seeing him abuse a boxer puppy named Diesel.

Police took the puppy to a local veterinarian, who found several fractures on his back legs and hips.

When Diesel was taken to the City of Wylie Animal Control, workers there gave the puppy a new name: Spirit.

"We will forever cherish the time we had with him, and we assure you he felt everyone's love and care before he left us," the agency said in a statement after Spirit was euthanized. "Soar high, Spirit...you will forever be in our hearts."