JUSTICE: Teen Who Tied Cabela To Railroad Tracks Sentenced To Jail

Seven months after a sweet-natured dog named Cabela was brutally shot and left to die, a Florida judge has handed down a sentence to the individual most responsible for that heinous crime.

On Wednesday, 17-year-old Natwan Callaway was ordered to spend 7 months in county jail for his role in the shocking case of animal cruelty that made headlines around the world last March. According to investigators, Callaway and three accomplices were involved in a dogfighting operation in the Tampa area; it is believed Callaway wanted to kill Cabela because she refused to participate.

"You're to have no contact with animals," Hillsborough Circuit Judge Lisa Campbell told Callaway at the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, as quoted by the Tampa Bay Times. "That's any animal. I don't care if it's a fish."

Callaway, who has been in jail since his arrest, will be credited for time served. After his release, he be placed under probation for four years.

Cabela managed to survive the violent ordeal and was rescued a short time later by police to who took her to the Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Service. There, over the weeks and months that followed, she slowly but surely recovered from her wounds and ultimately found a family that loves her.

"She's a low-key dog, but she's opened up. She smiles now," a staffer who adopted Cabela told The Dodo. "She gets to come into the office every day and sees everyone. I think it's the best outcome she could have."

To those who worked so hard to save Cabela from the heartless attempt on her life, Callaway's sentence is hardly punishment enough - but there's still some good that can come out of all she's been through, says the staffer:

"I hope Cabela's story makes people more aware of animal abuse that goes on. Hopefully the judicial system changes so that there are harsher sentences for doing things like [those] done to Cabela. Animals are more than just property."