The L.A. County District Attorney’s office charged a man with two misdemeanor animal cruelty charges in Valencia after he was arrested in November on suspicion he pepper-sprayed his neighbor’s dog twice.  An Urbandale Road resident reported she had been having problems with neighbor David McNeil, 36, for weeks, according to Deputy Robert Jensen, spokesman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, which presented the case to the district attorney.  The suspect pleaded not guilty Dec. 4 at the Valencia courthouse to charges of section 597(b) of the penal code, a complaint stating he “unlawfully and intentionally harmed/tortured a dog.”  A Dec. 3 letter from the investigating station detective indicated the case was moved from San Fernando to Valencia because McNeil was arrested Oct. 31 on suspicion of a felony, but prosecutors charged the allegations as a misdemeanor.  The court documents indicate the attacks happened on Oct. 27 and Oct. 30.  “‘Suspect pepper-sprayed the dog maliciously because the dog was barking,’” read the initial report of the incident, Jensen said, adding there was security footage of the incident provided to the investigating officers.   During the most recent confrontation, according to the report from patrol deputies who investigated the incident, McNeil stood behind a tall fence and pepper-sprayed the dog, according to the report prepared by deputies.  The dog was injured in the attack, but the breed and the animal’s condition were not immediately available.   Penal Code section 597(a) makes it a felony punishable by up to three years in prison for, “a person who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal, or maliciously and intentionally kills an animal.”   The DA’s office did not cite a reason for the reduced charges. Court records indicate the suspect also was advised of rights as either an active duty, reserve or retired member of the military, pursuant to the California Penal Code.  McNeil did not have an occupation listed in the Sheriff’s Department booking logs.  He was released on his own recognizance the morning after his arrest, according to LASD custody records available online.   McNeil is due back in court Jan. 23 for a pretrial conference.   The post Saugus man charged with pepper-spraying dog  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.