An Edmonton man has been sentenced to 14 months for abusing his dog in a manner the judge described as "sickening."

Kristopher David Barwell, who pleaded guilty to causing injury, wounding or maiming an animal, was given a 14 month jail term for abusing his dog.

Barwell will be subject to 2 years’ probation following jail, and will be banned from owning a pet for 15 years.

While the Defence was pushing for a conditional sentence to keep him out of jail, the Crown called what Barwell did to his dog Zeus "essentially torture.”

“This is a horrendous crime, it's not just about the injuries or the pain this says something about society and about one of our vulnerable parts of our communities that can't speak for themselves,” said Crown Prosecutor Christian Lim.

“We stand by our decision that deterrence and denunciation needs to be paramount,” added Lim calling the case the worst case of animal abuse he had ever seen in Edmonton.

As Judge Harry Bridges addressed post-arguments, he said that a conditional sentence was inappropriate. "The circumstances of the abuse of this dog are sickening," said Judge Bridges.

Barwell’s lawyer said his behavior was caused in part by mental health problems at the time as well as alcohol and drug abuse.

In court to testify to the events that occurred in the summer of 2012, Stephen and Yvonne Scott said they witnessed two horrific incidents, where one of their neighbours brutally beat a young puppy in his backyard. The Scotts stated they first tried to deal with the young man and his family but then saw what the animal was going through and called the authorities.

In a statement made to court during the trial in May 2013, Yvonne Scott described the incident as horrifying.

"I can't imagine what any animal or person could do to deserve to be treated that way," Yvonne Scott said. "The impact of the beating that I saw, "I'm sure would have broken my bones, and I'm over 100 pounds larger than the puppy was at the time."

What Scott and some other witnesses saw was Zeus, Barwell's Border collie, being beaten so badly it would eventually end up in the care of the Edmonton Humane Society.

When veterinarians there first saw the dog, it was thought he might not survive – both of his hips were broken and he couldn't stand. He had wounds all over his body that were infested with maggots, and two bullets were found in his thigh and his tail.

After extensive treatment that included two artificial hips, the dog now known as Kaden, was given a new lease on life and a new family.

With files from David Ewasuk