Animal Abuse: Puppy kicked, drowned - Esperance, WA | Pet-Abuse.Com Animal Cruelty Database

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Case ID: 17214

Classification: Kicking/Stomping, Drowning

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Abuse was retaliation against animal's bad behavior

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Case #17214 Rating: 1.0 out of 5

Puppy kicked, drowned
Esperance, WA (AU)

Incident Date: Monday, May 31, 2010

Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Michael David Hastie

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

An Esperance man has pleaded guilty in Esperance Magistrates Court to kicking his dog and drowning it in an esky.

The court heard that on May 31, Michael David Hastie, 26, "just snapped" after his seven-month old mixed-breed puppy dug up the reticulation in the yard of his Castletown home.

Frustrated, he kicked the dog, fracturing her right hind leg and causing extensive internal bruising to her abdomen and palate.

Hastie's lawyer said his client attempted to call two veterinary clinics in Esperance, but it was a Sunday and he was unsuccessful.

He said that the following afternoon, the dog was shaking and vomiting and, noticing her pain, Hastie placed her in an esky filled with water and secured the lid to "put it out of its misery".

Hastie then went for a walk and when he returned, the dog had died.
He buried her in his yard where she laid for 16 days until an Esperance Shire ranger investigated the incident.

The prosecution said the magistrate should consider jailing Hastie, saying the case was a "serious incident of animal cruelty".

The maximum penalty is a $50,000 fine and five years prison.

But Hastie's lawyer said the accused had never physically abused an animal before, and that his actions were the result of a stressful day at work.

He said that Hastie had grown up around animals, including a dog, cat and rabbits, and was responsible for taking care of his parents' 12-year-old German Sheppard when they went away.

The court also heard that Hastie had liked his pet and had tried several ways to stop her from digging holes in his yard and chewing the reticulation, such as taking her for longer walks and tying her to a chain.
Hastie admitted, through his lawyer, that he felt sick when he thought about what he had done.

The case has been adjourned until December 8.

Case Updates

A WEST Australian man who drowned his dog in an esky after it dug up garden water pipes has been given a suspended jail sentence, fined $5000 and barred from having a pet for five years.

Michael David Hastie, 26, of Castletown on WA's south coast, pleaded guilty to a charge of animal cruelty, admitting he kicked and badly injured his dog Imi, then drowned it in a water-filled esky in May last year.

In the Esperance Magistrates Court on Monday, Magistrate Felicity Zempilas said it was hard to imagine a more callous way of treating an animal.

The penalty needed to show the seriousness of the offence and act as a deterrent to the offender and the wider community, she said.

The court heard Hastie was interviewed by a local ranger in June last year after the ranger heard he had been bragging about killing his dog by drowning it.

Hastie told the ranger he drowned the dog after kicking and badly injuring it when he found the animal had dug up water reticulation in his garden.

The court heard that he told police that after injuring the dog he filled an esky with water, submerged the animal and secured the lid before going for a walk for a couple of hours.

The court also heard he had tried to phone vets after injuring the dog, including breaking its leg and jaw, but had failed to get through.

Hastie was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, fined $5000, ordered to pay costs of $1500 and prohibited from being in charge of any domestic animal for five years.

RSPCA WA spokesman Tim Mayne said it was "an absolutely horrific case" of animal cruelty and the community would be understandably upset by it.

He noted it was for the first time under the Animal Welfare Act a sentence had included a term of imprisonment, a fine and a prohibition order.

Source: news.com.au - Jan 10, 2010
Update posted on Jan 10, 2011 - 9:46PM

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Puppy kicked, drownedEsperance, WA (AU)

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Puppy kicked, drowned
Esperance, WA (AU)