A 19-year-old man who threw a Springer Spaniel bitch over the walls of Derry last August, was jailed yesterday for the offence of cruelty to an animal.
Martin John White, John Street, Derry, received an 11-month sentence after he admitted a series of motoring offences, assaults and causing criminal damage on various dates in 2002 and 2003.
Part of that jail term included a three months' sentence for throwing the dog over the city walls. The dog, known as Patch, survived the 25 foot drop into Guildhall Square.
Resident Magistrate, Mr Barney McElholm, imposing the sentence, said the maximum sentence of three months for people convicted of cruelty to animals was "ludicrously low" and he described White's actions as "disgusting and horrendous".
White committed the offence on August 15th last and his actions were recorded on a CCTV camera. On the film White is seen remonstrating with a woman who was walking the dog around the walls. As the woman attempted to walk away, Patch jumped onto the parapet of the walls and sat alongside White and a group of his friends.
The dog then jumped off the parapet and ran towards the woman. White is then filmed walking towards the dog, stooping down and throwing it over the walls. He then goes towards the woman and stares at her before spitting on the ground and returning to his friends where he drinks from a can of beer.
The court was told that when he was charged with cruelty towards the dog, White replied: "I was just drunk and being stupid. I didn't mean to hurt the dog".
A veterinary surgeon who examined Patch wrote in his report that the dog sustained severe inflammation and bruising but had made "a remarkable recovery".
The court was told that one month before the incident White was prevented three times in a five-day period from jumping off Derry's Craigavon Bridge into the River Foyle.