The sentence was handed down in Newton Falls Municipal Court to 25-year-old Marty Bricker of Mesopotamia Township after he pleaded guilty to violating Ohio’s law protecting companion animals.

According to a sheriff’s department report, a man who lives on Parkman Mesopotamia Road said that one of two Airedales failed to return home after being let out on June 10.

The man told a deputy that he heard a shot about an hour after the dogs were outside.

Although the man printed and posted signs asking for help from anyone who might have seen three-year-old “Bird”, it wasn’t until a week later that someone called claiming that Marty Bricker shot the dog.

The dog’s remains were found in a shallow grave on a nearby farm.  The dog’s collar and air tag had been removed. Some people place an Apple Air Tag on their pets to locate them if they become lost.

After speaking with Bricker and his father, the deputy filed the animal cruelty charge.

The report does not say why Bricker shot the dog.

Bricker is also on probation for three years.