Man gets probation in dog killing case

Dana VanLiew shows a picture
of her dog, Kaci. Photo by
Heather Smith.  Click to enlarge.

AURORA | A man who killed his neighbor’s dog with a high-powered pellet gun last spring was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay more than $4,750 in fines and restitution Tuesday morning.

A judge also gave Craig Deering, 69, a suspended six-month jail sentence and ordered him to complete 100 hours of community service and an anger management class for killing the dog, Kaci.

“This was a senseless and unnecessary act of cruelty,” Arapahoe County Judge Alex Bencze told Deering as he handed down the sentence, which matched the sentence local probation department officials recommended.

Kaci’s owner, Dana VanLiew, and her supporters, however, had asked for mandatory jail time.

VanLiew’s ex-husband, Steven VanLiew, called the sentence a disappointment.

“He got a slap on the wrist,” VanLiew said.

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