BUTLER, Pa. — A man accused of killing a woman’s dog in Butler County was sentenced to prison.
A judge sentenced Joseph Hillard to more than three years behind bars.
Police said He broke into the home of a woman he met on a dating app in 2024 after she said she didn’t want to see him anymore.
Officers said, while he was there, he stole her 10-year-old pug and killed it in the woods.
At the time, there was not enough evidence to charge him but police said he confessed to the crime over a year later at the Butler City Police Station.
He pleaded guilty to burglary, aggravated cruelty to animals, and tampering with evidence.
Hillard will spend at least three years and four months in prison and be on parole upon his release.
As part of his sentencing, he is not allowed to own or possess animals and has to do 25 hours of community service.
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