A Weber County man who abandoned 14 puppies - all but one of which died - in a trash bin behind a Riverdale store in December was sentenced Monday to a year in jail for each puppy that died, and six months for the survivor. But Michael Ray Howard, who also was sentenced for felony possession of methamphetamine, will serve a maximum of five years behind bars. Howard will serve his time in prison, not jail, because 2nd District Judge Roger Dutson ordered the misdemeanor animal cruelty counts to run concurrent to each other, and concurrent to the zero-to-five-year drug conviction. The owner of the surviving dog, which has been named Precious, had asked the judge for justice for all 14 puppies, according to prosecutor Branden Miles. Defense attorney Daniel Drage argued in favor of jail time and probation, rather than prison, claiming Howard had never been given an opportunity to obtain treatment for his drug-addiction problems. According to court documents, Howard, 36, told a Riverdale police officer he was unable to care for the terrier-mix puppies, who belonged to someone whom he refused to identify. Howard told police he intended to kill the puppies by putting them in a heavy duty plastic bag and leaving them to suffocate overnight in his backyard on Dec. 8. The next morning, believing all the puppies were dead, Howard placed the bag in the trash bin, where a store employee discovered them. Howard was linked to the abandoned dogs by anonymous callers. Howard pleaded guilty last month to 13 counts of class A misdemeanor animal cruelty in connection with the puppies that died, and one count of class B misdemeanor attempted animal cruelty in connection with the puppy that lived. In the separate drug possession case, he pleaded guilty to one third-degree felony.

- Stephen Hunt