FRANKLIN, Ind. -- A man convicted of stabbing a puppy received a 5½-year sentence Wednesday.

John Hornaday, 26, had pleaded guilty to stabbing a 6-month-old puppy in December 2006 after the dog soiled his chair.

According to police, Hornaday threatened his wife and child to keep quiet about the incident.

The dog was found near the clubhouse of the Westminster apartment complex on County Line Road, just west of U.S. 31 near the Johnson County line.

The puppy had been stabbed six times and her throat had been slashed. When rescuers found the dog, she was bleeding heavily and near death.

Hornaday was already serving time in another unrelated case. The puppy survived the attack.