BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. -- A Beaver County woman will go to trial on charges she left her dog for dead in a cage in her apartment.

Nicole Spatig, 21, faces 10 counts of animal cruelty in a case Beaver police called one of the worst cases of animal abuse they'd ever seen.

Spatig's German shepherd, Mya, was found dead in her cage with her snout wrapped around the bars.

Police say the dog starved to death and may have tried to chew her way out.

Spatig said she had been staying with her parents and thought her ex-boyfriend had been caring for the dog.