Animal-rights advocates were in court Tuesday to condemn 36-year-old Marc Christopher Vincent, of Murray, who is charged with two counts of animal cruelty for allegedly attacking the puppy earlier this year.

But advocates said the timing of the case could help their quest to increase the penalty for torturing animals.

As the 2007 Legislative session nears, members of the Humane Society of Utah will again lobby lawmakers to boost the class A misdemeanor offense to a third-degree felony - an effort that has twice failed on Capitol Hill.

Gene Baierschmidt said he hopes the Vincent case will still be fresh in the public's mind when the Legislature convenes in January.

Under current Utah law, offenders face a maximum punishment of one year in jail.

A third-degree felony conviction can result in up to five years in prison.

Baierschmidt said "deliberate torture" of the sort allegedly inflicted on Henry should carry the possibility of prison.

On May 8, Rhonda Vincent came home to find Henry with a swollen left eye. Her husband, Marc Vincent, admitted chasing and cornering the puppy with a leaf blower, according to the charges. Four days later, a veterinarian removed the damaged eye.

On May 25, the woman came home to find the dog's paws burned. Marc Vincent admitted putting the dog in a 200-degree oven for five minutes, according to the charges. He also allegedly admitted the oven incident in a written statement to police.

Baierschmidt said the dog now limps because its front paw digits were fused together by the heat of the oven.

Humane Society publication editor Katharine Brant said Henry also shows signs of emotional trauma. For no reason, "he will yelp and hide behind the couch and shiver," she said.

Baierschmidt claims Vincent harmed the dog to "get even with his wife." Rhonda Vincent filed for divorce in July.

During Tuesday's hearing, another pretrial conference was scheduled for Sept. 18 before 3rd District Judge William Barrett.

Vincent and his attorney, Tara Haynes, declined to discuss the case.

Baierschmidt claims there is "overwhelming public support" to increase the penalties for animal cruelty law. He said past efforts were derailed by "a few individual lawmakers who personally oppose the idea of tougher animal cruelty laws."

To those who might shrug at Henry's plight and say, "It's only a dog," Baierschmidt points to "an enormous body of scientific evidence" linking cruelty to animals to aggression toward humans.

"Serial killers like Ted Bundy, the Boston Strangler and Jeffrey Dahmer all tortured animals before they brutally murdered their human victims," he said. Forty-one states have felony provisions in their animal-cruelty statutes, Baierschmidt said.

shunt@sltrib.com