Man jailed for dog sink drowning

A man from Bedfordshire has been jailed for 18 weeks for drowning his partner's dog in a kitchen sink.

James Stringer, 39, of Grove Road, Leighton Buzzard, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a 17-year-old terrier called George.

Magistrates in Luton also banned him from owning animals for life at the hearing on Monday.

The court heard Stringer claimed he had been drinking and lost his temper when the dog bit his foot on 29 June.

'Horrible ordeal'

He had let the dog into the garden but when it tried to get back in to the house, he barred the door with his foot.

He claimed the animal then bit him and so he held the dog under water in some washing up in the sink.

The dog's body was taken by the RSPCA to a vet for examination and was then sent to the Royal Veterinary College in London for a post-mortem examination.

Vets concluded the animal's death was traumatic, causing extreme panic and distress for at least six minutes before it died.

Speaking after the case, RSPCA inspector Claire Gordon said: "The details of how George died are extremely upsetting.

"He suffered a horrible ordeal at the hands of someone who was supposed to care for him.

"I hope the sentence will serve to protect other animals from going through a similar, awful experience in future."