And yet there are people going to prison for not paying bills.
If I was his neighbour and he killed my dog, he'd have to move or I'd happily make his life a living hell.

I wonder how long he'd been living next door to them and if he knew the context of why they had the dog? The girl died in 2008 from reading the OP so I just wonder if he had only recently moved in next door and just couldn't handle the yapping dog and was unaware of the back story? Not that it's particularly relevant, if you're capable of drowning a dog and cutting it open to remove its microchip, you're hardly going to stop and think about it if there's a sob story behind why they have the dog, but still... he should be doing time for this and this is exactly the kind of state of mental health that shouldn't be allowed to fly a plane.

Sentences are far too lenient with regards to cruelty to animals , the law should come down on them hard as at the moment there is no deterrent , just a slap on the wrist . We have a family by us who leave their dog alone in the day and it makes hell of a row,we are not angry with the dog,just the owners!

"The owners are partly to blame, for the noise at least. "

Bang On Right smudgie

Pigs keeping dogs. :shrug:

Maybe the Judge was a cat lover, that may sound ridiculous but it is amazing at times as to what mood Judge or even Magistrates are in on the day as to sentencing, despite the guidelines,and also their own preferences.

The killing of the dog was bad enough in itself, the after events make this a very calculated act and make the crime even more serious.
He would be away for me,just as he clearly would for you too.

He clearly tried to cover up the horrific act too.
For those things alone he should have had the book thrown at him.
Owners of dogs can now face prison if their dog attacks someone, the same should apply to anyone attacking and murdering someone's dog.
Especially in this case.

:shrug:

I love dogs but I have to be totally honest here and say that I think that people can be totally over the top with sentiment when it comes to pets. The man clearly has some sort of anger issues and snapped - and of course that shouldn't slide, it should be addressed - but I'm sorry, it doesn't make him a monster and it doesn't make his actions unfathomable. If the noise really was that incessant, and he was suffering from some other sort of stress at the time... People snap. They just do. And - to be blunt - a dog is not a human. It doesn't mean he would have or could have harmed a human. Most people are instinctively driven to not harm other humans for petty reasons like this but the same simply does not apply to an animal.

I'm not sure that I agree that he should be psychiatrically cleared so soon as like I said there is clearly some sort of control issue and he should be receiving mandatory treatment for that. But jail...? Not so sure it's appropriate.

Also - I'm going to come right out and say it - if the dog was Barking enough and for such a prolonged period of time that it drove someone to drown it, then it was being neglected by its owners. There's no two ways about it. And there isn't really any excuse for it either. Their beloved dog that made them feel so connected to their late daughter that they left it distressed and barking for hours on end? Hmmmmm OK then.

There is nothing more annoying than a dog constantly barking, but that is still not a reason to kill it. But why was the dog constantly barking, clearly the owners were neglecting their "beloved" family pet to leave it outside to do that all day.

:clap1::clap1::clap1:

I disagree I believe behaviour like this could be a precursor to more unpredictable violent behaviour. Being a pilot I wouldn't say this bodes well, if the guy is oversensitive and irrational.

:clap1::clap1::clap1: I couldn't put it better.

It could be which is exactly why the correct course of action is to have him being assessed psychologically on an ongoing basis, and not plonked amongst violent criminals in prison.

If he isn't on the way to more unpredictable violent behaviour then prison is the wrong course of action. If he IS potentially on the way to becoming a violent criminal, then the surest way of turning him into one immediately is to put him in prison.

Let's be realistic. He was never going to be locked away forever for this. A few years at an ABSOLUTE maximum. And then what? Then you have someone with violent anger problems who has spent the last couple of years living amongst hardened criminals. It's just... A really bad idea.

Not half as much as trying to justify drowning a dog.

:clap1:

When did I say I wanted him to go to prison? I don't however think he's fit for work.

Exactly. A dog left barking it's head off outside for long enough to drive someone to the point of snapping is a neglected dog, simple as that. My theory would be that the dog got sidelined when their daughter died, which is perhaps understandable, but it's also a part of the story that shouldn't really be overlooked.

So, whilstI feel awful for them for the loss of their daughter, I have limited sympathy for them when it comes to the loss of the dog. They didn't care for it properly and now it's gone. I do feel bad for the dog which really did nothing wrong. And tbh I feel sorry for the guy who momentarily (or otherwise) lost his mind. It's a sorry situation all round.

However. As much as I do love pets, it is just a dog and I maintain that people go over the top. People have more compassion for a drowned dog in a bucket than a thousand drowned human beings in the Mediterranean. Which is frankly ****ing terrifying.

I agree but I already said as much as part of my first post on this :nono:

Do agree with a lot of what TS is saying (particularly in how people can get more emotional over a pet than a fellow human), but I do think it takes a certain sort of person to physically hold a dog's dead under water until it drowns and then make concerted efforts going to great lengths to cover his tracks. That takes it beyond a mere moment of madness imo. I'm not sure prison would be that inappropriate, he probably wouldn't be surrounded by violent criminals in a maximum security unit for something like this. But a few months in an open prison would be a fair sentence and might even do him some good.

I can't believe there are actually people making excuses for this disgusting man's actions, there is no excuse for taking a life, NO excuse.

Let me put it this way; if he was next door to a loud family who played music really loud all the time, would it be OK if he snapped and killed them?

I really didn't want to read this having 6 dogs of my own. I haven't read it properly. What I do know is that if and I say IF it was barking 24/7 then surely other people would hear it. Nothing but a horrid mad and I cant believe his pitiful sentence!!!!!
I had a letter once saying my dogs barked continuously throughout the day!! What a load of bull, today ive not been too well so Ive been in bed since 1.30pm and you wouldn't even know I had dogs not once single bark!!!!

If you really feel that it's his actions weren't unfathomable then you don't "love dogs". A dog's life is just as important as a humans life, to me anyway.

I think i'm gonna have to stay away from this thread lol because it's actually pissing me off.

"for such a prolonged period of time that it drove someone to drown it, then it was being neglected by its owners."

Bang On Right TS

something Ammi ignored

He should NOT be flying,WHO in their right mind would do such a terrible thing? what if there was to be a constantly crying baby on one of his flights? I'm sick of the "It's only a dog" attitude,a dog can be part of your family and does not understand some humans don't like them barking! bet he wouldn't have done it to a sturdy Rottweiler,bastard.

Neglected or not, the dog was murdered and for some reason you think that's OK just because she apparently made a lot of noise. Disgusting.

He should have gotten a much longer sentence, it was obviously a well thought out killing and not an act of desperation given that he knew to cut out the micro chip. He sounds like a very disturbed individual and I hope he never flies again since if he'll butcher a small dog like it was nothing, what else is he capable of?

arista,there were other options,C'mon,really? I agree about the owners,but,to DROWN it and the cut it open to get the microchip out? that's somebody bloody calculated not stressed.