Jailed for killing dog

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A former police officer who admitted killing a dog was sentenced to two months in jail for animal cruelty.

Curt Seufert, 34, who left the St. Joseph County police force after he was charged in the 2005 case, was sentenced Wednesday in the county's Superior Court. Seufert pleaded guilty in November to killing his former girlfriend's dog after an argument.

Judge John M. Marnocha also placed Seufert on probation for one year and ordered him to pay $127.50 in restitution to his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Radican.

According to the investigation, the dog, an Akita named Lexi, died of internal bleeding from a ruptured spleen. The judge said evidence did not indicate Seufert, who beat the dog, intended to kill it.

The case attracted national attention from animals rights activists across the country. Comedian Richard Pryor and his wife sent a letter to the sheriff expressing outrage about the case a week before Pryor died in December 2005.

Jennifer Pryor told the South Bend Tribune by telephone Wednesday that the two-month sentence was a "slap on the wrist."