Thug jailed for dog attack
A County Derry man, who tortured and strangled a dog to death, has been sentenced to six months in prison.
By Orla McNicholl
Twenty nine year old William David Streeter from Coleraine, was convicted with seven counts of animal cruelty and one of making threats to kill but was released on bail pending an appeal.
Streeter hung loveable Golden Retriever Mac by the collar in his garage and kicked him with steel toe capped boots before beating him with a metal rod in 2006.
The court heard that after the attack he told his former wife Alison McMonagle: “You didn’t think I had it in me. I did it to him- think about what I could do to you.”
Streeter’s horrific abuse of Mac started in 2005, the court heard, but things came to a head in October 2006 when he kicked the dog in the face, threw a large boulder at him and locked him in a kennel soaking him with a hose, threatening to drown him.
The beloved family pet was left bloodstained with broken ribs and had bled from his brain and lungs.
He was buried in the garden before investigators exhumed him.
Streeter’s ex-wife Alison said she hoped his sentence would send out a message to people who treat animals cruelly.
She said: “I think he could have got longer in prison but the fact that he has been given a custodial sentence goes some way towards setting a precedent for crimes against animals being taken seriously by the courts.”
The cruel attack was described by Magistrate Richard Wilson at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court as being the “worst animal abuse case” ever heard of.
Louise Graham, from Rainbow Animal Rehoming Centre said Streeter’s sentence was not long enough: “We were hoping for a longer sentence. This is the maximum sentence for acts of animal cruelty and it is a terrible short length of time for what he done,” said Louise.
