Joe Waters has pleaded not guilty to the felony animal cruelty charges he faces for allegedly beating his dog in the head with a sledgehammer last year.

Waters, 48, must now wait to get on the DeKalb County Superior Court calendar for trial, expected sometime later this summer.

The dog recovered after a week in an emergency veterinary office. The 9-year-old Australian shepherd has been living with his rescuer, Robert Kennedy, since. Waters remains free on $25,000 bail as he waits to appear before Judge Cynthia Becker.

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Rebecca Ramage-Tuttle, assistant director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia, says the the DOE rule change is “a slippery slope” for civil rights. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC