PRESQUE ISLE (AP) – Two Presque Isle teenagers admitted beating and stabbing a dog to death in a case that raised an outcry in Maine and beyond.

Benjamin Benedict, 16, was given the maximum sentence for a youth – incarceration until he turns 21 – as well as being forbidden from owning or being near pets. The sentencing of Joshua Dunn, 17, was delayed until next month.

The pair pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of animal cruelty and theft by unauthorized taking for the episode on June 2.

Another 17-year-old believed to have been involved in the incident was not a part of Thursday’s hearing. His name has not been released.

In summarizing the incident, Assistant District Attorney Carrie Linthicum told the judge that Benedict admitted he and two others were walking around sometime after midnight when they came upon a mixed-breed dog named C.C. tied outside.

Benedict told police that one of the teens untied the dog, then they took turns punching and kicking the animal. Dunn admitted impaling the dog.

A veterinarian reported that there were multiple lacerations on the dog’s face and head and “at least 20” wounds on the body. Its neck was lacerated so deeply that blood vessels were exposed. It was stabbed in the chest, eyes and muzzle.

Benedict, who declined to tell the story in his own words on Thursday, told police he hit the dog “at least three times” and “cut and stabbed the dog’s throat two or three times.” He told police was motivated by “accumulated rage” after a night of drinking.

For his part, Dunn told the judge he had some “built up anxiety and needed to release it somewhere.” He said he consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana before the incident.

“I hit it, I kicked it, I impaled it,” said Dunn, who told the judge he could not give “a reasonable explanation” as to why he tortured the animal.

The dog’s owner shook her head, put her hands over her eyes and cried as she listened to graphic details. She said it was the first time she had heard the full story.

Residents from around the nation and world flooded Aroostook County District Attorney Neale Adams’ office with letters, faxes and phone calls after learning about the incident. Many urged the office to punish the teens “to the fullest extent of the law.”

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