Dog beaten with metal rake Mission Viejo, CA (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010 County: Orange
Charges: Felony CTA, Felony Non-CTA Disposition: Alleged Case Images: 1 files available
Alleged: Michael Stuart Patterson
A man accused of attacking a neighbor's dog with a metal rake after becoming upset over the German shepherd's barking entered a plea of not guilty in court, officials said.
Michael Stuart Patterson, 51, was charged with first-degree residential burglary and one felony count of animal cruelty, prosecutors said.
Patterson was taken into custody Wednesday in Huntington Beach after, sheriff officials said, he broke into a neighbor's home and beat a 5-year-old German shepherd with a metal rake.
Officials said Patterson became angry over the dog's barking. When he went to confront the owner, officials said, he attacked the dog instead.
The dog, Honey, suffered several puncture wounds to the head and the body. According to prosecutors, the dog also suffered loss of vision.
"I'm going to kill you, and I'm going to kill your dog," neighbor Phillip De Labio said he heard Patterson yelling as he was knocking on his neighbor's door.
The owner, Bill Daly, brought the dog back to his home Thursday afternoon, where he said she was recuperating from surgery.
"Why would he do something like this?" Daly said. "If he doesn't' want to confront me personally, he can put a note on my door."
Daly said he adopted Honey in April after seeing an ad on Craigslist. He said he knows Honey barks a lot, but he had not received complaints about it.
Mission Viejo animal services said they never received a complaint about a barking dog at Daly's address.
Sheriff officials responded to the 26300 block of Via Logrono at 1 p.m. Tuesday after receiving a 911 call from a neighbor. Honey was found inside the home, officials said, bleeding in a bathtub.
If convicted, the Mission Viejo man could face a maximum sentence of six years and eight months in state prison.
According to sheriff records, he is in custody in lieu of $52,500 bail. References |