Posted Wednesday, April 18, 2012 --- 9:35 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A town of Fond du Lac man's felony conviction for shooting his neighbor's dog Shakes with a high-powered pellet gun has been upheld.

The Second District Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the 2010 conviction of Shawn Klingelhoets saying that the jury didn't have to find that he intended to kill the dog, only that he intended to treat it in a cruel manner.

Klingelhoets was convicted on a felony charge of mistreating an animal resulting in its death after he shot his neighbor's Jack Russell terrier three times while it was tied to a post. Klingelhoets testified that he just wanted to "give him a little sting in the butt" to stop him from barking.

But the third shot penetrated Shakes' spinal canal, causing him to be euthanized.

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.