A woman who tortured a Surrey family's pet Labrador retriever last year, leaving the dog with physical and emotional scars, will not be spending any time behind bars.

Lindsey Susan Hirtreiter, who was 23 years old at the time of the shocking abuse, pleaded guilty to one animal cruelty count Monday and was sentenced to two years' probation and a lifetime ban on owning animals.

That ban was a relief to the dog's family, who said the retriever, named Ryder, still hasn't fully recovered from being stabbed, bound and beaten.

"He does suffer from seizures once in a while," Ryan Westaway said at Surrey provincial court. "It's just a horrific incident, what happened."

The judge called Hirtreiter's actions bizarre and inexplicable, but accepted the defence's argument that she had been in a psychotic state during the attack that was brought on by stress, depression and marijuana use.

The court heard that Ryder wandered away from his family home on Valentine's Day 2015. Though he had a collar and tag with his name on it, the dog was picked up by Hirtreiter and taken to her nearby basement suite.

Ryder was then subjected to a horrific series of abuses, including being stabbed with scissors and having butane poured into his eyes.

The dog also had multiple objects, including lighters and jewelry, jammed down his throat, and pieces of metal shoved into his eyelids and behind his eye sockets.

Even more shocking is that the abuse occurred in front of Hirtreiter's four-year-old daughter, who had the dog's blood on her face when police arrived.

The court heard that at one point during the incident, the mother told her child to close her eyes and sing nursery rhymes. When police arrived, Hirtreiter told them she had been afraid the dog was going to attack them.

Officers found Ryder with sunglasses on his face and a cigarette in his mouth – an attempt by Hirtreiter to make the dog seem less frightening to her daughter, prosecutors said.

Hirtreiter was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward for a month after the incident. Her lawyer said she has sought additional counselling and help, and has never experienced another psychotic episode in her life.

Hirtreiter also apologized multiple times for what happened in court.

Ryder had to undergo emergency surgery to save his eyesight and other costly treatments, but his family managed to crowdfund more than $30,000 to help pay for the veterinary bills.

They said the dog is still healing, and that they see the incident as a sad chapter in his otherwise happy life.

"I love everything about him. He's my best friend," Westaway said.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Michele Brunoro