Family pet dies of beating suffered during home burglary

June 15, 2012 1:00 am • By ED KEMMICK ekemmick@billingsgazette.com

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Early last Friday afternoon, a burglar or burglars apparently broke into the Clark home on the 2000 block of Colton Boulevard by climbing through Sadie's door.

Probably because Sadie was barking, Clark said, the intruder kicked and beat the 55-pound dog so severely that she had to be put down later in the day.
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She had obvious head injuries and both left paws were bloody, with broken claws. When they took her to the Moore Lane Veterinary Hospital, they found Sadie's injuries were worse than they knew.

She had been kicked so hard that her diaphragm was split in two and she had a ruptured sternum and liver. They were back home, waiting for the police to arrive and debating whether to take a chance on expensive surgery, when the vet called and said Sadie was quickly fading.
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