Couple Charged After Dog Dies From Scalding

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SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) - Prosecutors have charged a San Francisco Bay Area couple with felony animal abuse for allegedly scalding their poodle and Maltese mix dog and then waiting more than a week before taking it to the vet.

The East Bay Times reports Monday (http://bit.ly/2bzN1zb) the dog, named Sprocket, died shortly after he was brought to a veterinary clinic to be treated for third-degree burns on 40 percent of his body.

The San Mateo district attorney's office charged Shelby Lujan and her boyfriend, Paul Souter, with felony animal abuse after an investigation aided by police and the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA.

The couple told investigators they had accidentally spilled a cup of boiling water into his crate but an expert said the pattern and severity of the injuries are consistent with the dog being lowered or placed in a scalding liquid.