(Newser) – A wheelchair-bound California parolee has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting an eight-month-old Chihuahua. He must also register as a sex offender in what could be the first such requirement in an animal abuse case. Robert Edward De Shields was renting space in a Sacramento house when the homeowners returned to find him with their Chihuahua, Shadow, "in pain and shock," reports the Los Angeles Times. A veterinarian examined the Chihuahua, and discovered the dog had suffered severe damage to its internal organs.

Shadow survived following surgery, according to the Sacramento Bee. The dog is currently being cared for in a foster home. "Shadow is a victim in every sense of the word," the new owner told the judge. The dog is extraordinarily fearful of men, "like many victims of sexual assault," she said, and may never fully recover from its physical wounds. (Click to read another dog story ... with a much happier ending.)

