DALY CITY — A judge this week placed a Daly City woman on 36 months of probation after she pleaded no contest to one count of felony animal abuse for letting her puppy starve to death, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

By pleading no contest Monday, 27-year-old Janice Mathis avoided a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Prosecutors said Mathis left her 3-month-old Chihuahua, named Baby, inside a crate in her mother’s backyard last November. Her mother did not know Baby was there and the dog starved to death.

A pair of children made the grim discovery, according to prosecutors.

Daly City police opened an investigation after Mathis brought Baby’s body to the Peninsula Humane Society for disposal. Prosecutors said the puppy was severely emaciated and covered in urine and feces.

Baby died of starvation and did not have any underlying illnesses, according to a necropsy. Bone marrow fat testing showed the puppy’s fat content was just 0.8 percent, well below the average of 59.4 percent.

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Mathis was the sole owner of the dog, according to prosecutors.

Mathis’ probation will be split into 18 months of supervised probation and 18 months of court probation. San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Donald Ayoob also ordered her to perform 40 hours of community service and barred her from owning or possessing another animal.