The NFL hasn't had a notorious dog abuse incident since Michael Vick nearly 10 years ago.

However, People is reporting that ex-NFL player Terrence Cody was slapped with a nine-month jail sentence by a Baltimore County judge last week, stemming from a 2015 conviction, which involved the starvation of his dog.

Cody, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2013, brought his Canary Mastiff, Taz, to the vet in January 2015, when it was nearly 50 pounds underweight. It died hours later, as reported by People. 

Although he was acquitted of two felony counts of animal cruelty, Cody was convicted of misdemeanor neglect charges in November, before last week's sentencing.

Prosecutors believe Cody had Taz holed up in a crate in his garage over the winter, among the dog's own urine, feces and blood.

Ironically, Cody has two other dogs who were well taken care of. 

Prosecutor Adam Lippe compared this kind of animal neglect to certain types of child abuse.
"We see this a lot: It's a nice, happy family, but you'll see this one child is horribly abused," Lippe told People. "He treated [Taz] like a guard dog. It wasn't a family pet. What I surmise is that this dog did something. He did something where [Cody] said, 'You're going into the penalty box.'"

Cody's lawyer says Taz was put in the garage because the family feared he had worms.

"He clearly misidentified what was wrong with the dog and let the lack of treatment go beyond what it should have," Cody's attorney Joe Murtha told People.

Sad story any way you look at it.

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(Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)