A Co Antrim man who beat a Chihuahua to death because it was barking has been sentenced to three months in prison.
At Ballymena Magistrates Court, District Judge Nigel Broderick told Michael McAllister (51) that killing the dog, named Marley, was a "terribly cruel thing to do."
He said that to have battered an animal to death “out of some sense of frustration with it because it was barking is wholly unacceptable.”
McAllister, from Glynnview Avenue in Larne, pleaded guilty to theft of a dog and causing unnecessary suffering to the dog on August 4th last year.
Following a defence application, McAllister was freed on £500 bail pending an appeal of the sentence.
Earlier, a prosecuting lawyer told the court police were called to an address in Larne “over a report of a dog being killed”.
When they spoke to Marley’s owner, she told them how McAllister had been in her flat “in an angry state.”
“The dog was barking and he lifted the dog and left the flat,” said the lawyer adding that two witnesses contacted police to report they saw the defendant with the body of a “limp, dead dog.”
A postmortem examination determined the dog died due to a subdural haematoma which was caused by blunt force trauma.
According to Marley’s owner, McAllister had declared “on numerous occasions....that he would choke the dog if it didn’t stop barking.”
McAllister was arrested but refused to answer police questions and claimed he had no recollection of what had happened.
Defence counsel Michael Smyth said his client was ashamed of what he had done.
Jailing McAllister, the judge said it was clear from the victim impact reports that Marley had given his owner “a great deal of comfort and friendship” and that he had no doubt “she has been emotionally traumatised at the death of her much-loved pet.”