A Michigan man is being charged with animal cruelty for letting his dog chase down and kill a young raccoon who had allegedly caused some damage in his garage. The charge is punishable by a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Before you judge this as a ridiculous charge or applaud it, heres a little background, via the Jackson Citizen Patriot. Well present info from both sides. After reading the facts, weigh in below.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Blumer says the raccoon probably died an agonizing death, and should have been trapped alive or quickly killed.

The accused, Sean Foster, 23, says his blue heeler killed the raccoon swiftly.

Blumer contends the dog was encouraged by two teenage boys to attack the raccoon and tear it apart.

Mike Foster, Seans dad, has run a wildlife control service for 30 years, and says has seen worse than a dog killing a raccoon. People put out antifreeze for animals to poison, he said.

The Fosters said the raccoon had made a hole in the garage, damaged a door, ate stored bird feed and knocked tools off a work bench. It was raising hell, Mike Foster said.

The dog, named Grizz, helps Sean and Mike Foster locate raccoons in attics or small crawl spaces so they can catch or trap the animals and remove them or euthanize them. He can apparently be in control when necessary.

Blumer compared the events surrounding the raccoons death to cockfighting or dogfighting, both of which are illegal. There is legitimate sport, and then theres cruel sport, he said. Because you have a license to kill a deer, doesnt mean you can break all its legs and watch it die slowly.

Blumer said if the dog had come across the raccoon on his own and killed it without human intervention, there would be no cruelty charges.

With these facts in hand, lets put it in Dogster Court. What do you think, Dogsters? Does Foster deserve to face an animal cruelty charge? What do you think of this whole scenario?