Michigan man Timothy Tucker uses puppy to beat girlfriend

A man with a decades-long criminal history was sentenced for a domestic assault that left his ex-girlfriend injured and their 3-week-old dog dead.

Monique Thomas said she now lives in fear of Timothy Tucker after a November 2014 fight that escalated and tued physical.

"All I did was walk behind him, and all of a sudden I tued around and I'm being thrown up against the closet wall, the closet door," Thomas said. "He's swinging at me, and I'm trying to defend myself and he's still choking me. Then all of a sudden, bam!"

Monique Thomas said she fears for her safety after her ex-boyfriend, who has a long criminal history, was given just six months in jail for beating her with their puppy and killing the animal. (Source: WWMT/CBS)  

Court documents show Tucker hit Thomas multiple times with their puppy. When it was all over Thomas' eye was severely swollen, and the puppy was dead.

Thomas said she had no idea her then-boyfriend had a violent past until it was too late. Thomas described herself as "in the dark" after Tucker physically and emotionally abused her.

Tucker has been arrested a dozen times in the last 20 years, convicted multiple times for domestic violence.

This week Tucker was sentenced to six months in jail and four years of probation. As a result of a plea deal, a charge of killing or torturing animals was dropped. He also avoided prison time by enrolling in an intensive probation program.

Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting had to answer why someone with such a lengthy criminal history was given probation instead of prison.

"I think that's a very fair question," Getting said. "In general, the program is a program of last resorts rather than incarceration. The court's going to look at what a person's prior criminal history is, what the nature of this offense was and make a determination whether or not to take a chance on a person like Mr. Tucker rather than incarcerating him."

But Thomas fears this isn't the end of it.

"I'm already nervous that he might come back here," she said.