A Canyon Country man accused of shooting and killing his German shepherd last month, pleaded not guilty to an animal cruelty charge Friday.
Christopher Ray Nard, 57, appeared in San Fernando Superior Court where he was charged with one felony count each of cruelty to an animal with a personal use of a gun allegation and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence.
“The defendant pleaded not guilty today,” Ricardo Santiago, spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, said Friday.
He was ordered to return to court on Sept. 23.
According to Deputy District Attorney Bradley Lieberman, Nard shot 9-year-old Shiloh with a rifle on July 9.
At the time of his arrest on July 11, law enforcement officers described Nard as a man who “is severely depressed.”
The accused man faces a possible maximum sentence of 13 years in prison.
The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Clarita Station.
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