Yeah right. Panic not torture. Give me a break.

Panic, not torture, behind family dog's death: lawyer

CanWest News Service
Published: Thursday, November 23, 2006

DIDSBURY, Alta. - It was panic not deliberate cruelty that prompted two Alberta teens to allegedly inflict near-fatal injuries on a family dog, a defence lawyer said Wednesday.

The teens from Didsbury were trying to put the pet out of its misery after one of them accidentally ran over it, Mark Takada said outside court after a brief appearance on the matter.

''A lot of people just thought these are sadistic brutes. That's not what happened at all,'' he said. ''They weren't trying to be cruel to the animal. They panicked.''

Takada's client, Daniel Charles Haskett, 19, and his then 17-year-old friend, are facing a number of animal cruelty charges, including injuring or endangering an animal and causing unnecessary suffering. The younger teen can't be named due to his age at the time of the incident.

Daisy Duke, a border collie-Lab, had to be euthanized on the street after she was found with horrific injuries Oct. 8. It's believed she had been beaten and possibly dragged behind a vehicle. The dog's legs were bound with duct tape, and there was a tow rope around its neck. Its head was wrapped in a bag.

Takada declined to reveal why his client didn't call a veterinarian when the dog was first injured.

Takada and Crown prosecutor Gordon Haight are scheduled to return to provincial court Dec. 11, when it's expected Haskett will enter a plea.

The accused youth is due back in court Dec. 7.

Calgary Herald

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=bc1c8070-07c7-409c-a158-251059a5a1ae&k=7378