Teacher Shot Pet Dog Dead

Newcastle Herald

Friday October 26, 2007

By INGRID BOWN

A BIOLOGY teacher and father of five was jailed yesterday for shooting to death a neighbour's pet dog because it wandered into his Nords Wharf yard.

Magistrate Michael Morahan described the actions of Belmont Christian College teacher Guy William Wood as unprovoked and extremely irresponsible.

"These actions are extreme and call for an extreme penalty," Mr Morahan told Belmont Local Court.

He sentenced Wood, of Government Road, Nords Wharf, to two weeks' jail.

Wood lodged an appeal against the sentence and was released.

The 49-year-old pleaded guilty to an aggravated act of animal cruelty after killing two-year-old American Staffordshire bull terrier, Butch.

Two people out walking alerted police to the incident after hearing thumps and a dog yelping in bushland off the Pacific Highway at Nords Wharf about 8.50am on July 12.

The walkers recorded the registration number of a white ute they saw parked near the scene.

Police went to the site and found the dog down an embankment. It had a bloodied head and there was blood splatter about half a metre away, the facts said.

When police visited Wood's home, he told them, "Yeah, no problem, I'll tell you what happened".

He said: "The dog came into my yard and I didn't know whose dog it was so I put it in my ute and drove it up to the bush and I shot it. There was no suffering. I've shot animals before, I know what I'm doing".

In a statement, he said the dog came into his yard, not wearing a collar and he removed it, but it came back.

He then drove the dog to bushland, chained it to a tree and shot it in the back of the head and then again between the eyes to make sure it was dead.

He told police he may have fired a third shot.

Wood said he had seen the dog before but did not try to find its owner.

The owner, Daniel Sandstrom, told police Butch was usually kept in his backyard and was friendly.

Wood's solicitor, Warren Perram, said his client had financially compensated Mr Sandstrom, written a letter and apologised in person.

"[The crime] is not in keeping with this man's character, his background and occupation," he said.

"He comes before the court terribly regretting what he's done."

The appeal was adjourned to October 30.

© 2007 Newcastle Herald

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