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Man Who Killed Girlfriend's Dog Sentenced to Boot Camp

 Fabian Perez, 31, pleaded guilty to aggravated cruelty to animals.
Fabian Perez, 31, pleaded guilty to aggravated cruelty to animals.
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DNAinfo; Chicago Police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — The man who broke into his girlfriend's home and murdered her dog last year has been sentenced to Cook County Boot Camp.

Fabian Perez, 31, pleaded guilty last month to aggravated cruelty to animals. Judge Maura Slattery Boyle sentenced Perez to Cook County Boot Camp, court records show.

RELATED: Man Kills Girlfriend's Dog, Leaves Bloody Carcass For Woman To Find

That means Perez will spend six months in custody learning "all aspects of de-construction" followed by eight months in the field demolishing abandoned homes in low-income communities, according to Cara Smith, Sheriff Tom Dart's chief policy officer.

"Its a great program that both gives detainees skills and provides invaluable assistance to communities that need help tackling the blight that's in their backyard," Smith said Monday. "It's a win-win."

Perez will likely spend his eight months of community supervision working in the south and west suburbs, Smith said.

If Perez does not successfully complete the boot-camp program, his case will be sent back to Slattery Boyle for re-sentencing.

According to prosecutors, Perez went to his girlfriend's McKinley Park home April 22, 2016, and became enraged when she wasn't there.

He brutally kicked and beat her dog Gia, a medium-size mixed-breed dog, before throwing the pup down a flight of stairs, prosecutors said. Perez then slipped out of the home — leaving the dog's dead body on the floor.

Though Perez initially denied the attack, he later apologized to his girlfriend via text message.

When police searched Perez's Belmont Cragin home in May 2016, they found another dog that appeared to be injured and couldn't walk on its left leg, according to an arrest report. Perez's defense attorney said Perez had veterinary bills that could prove he hadn't abused that dog.

In a separate matter, Perez was one of the last people to see Tyler, a 60-pound rescue dog, alive before telling police it was stolen and killed in April.

Tyler the rescue dog. Photo courtesy of Natalie Sopart.

On March 6, 2016, Perez told authorities he was robbed of Tyler while transporting the dog between an adoption family’s home and the home Natalie Sopart, co-founder of Furever Rescue, the organization that had been working to find Tyler a home.

Court documents list Sopart as the owner of the dog prosecutors said Perez beat to death on April 22.

According to a police report, Sopart told officers the men who stole Tyler said, "Welcome to Chicago, b----," before taking the pup. The men took Tyler and fled, Sopart said. A day later, the dog was found dead.

RELATED: Another Dead Dog Linked To Man Who Said Rescue Pitbull Was Stolen

RELATED: Dog Rescue Linked To Man Accused of Killing Dog Should Be Closed: Critics