Dog owner hurls collie off pier to 'teach it to swim'

Stock photo, Babbacombe Bay: PA

Onlookers were left horrified when a "drunken" dog owner hurled his collie off a pier in to the sea 15ft below.

Paul Sanders threw Shep over the edge of Babbacombe pier in Torquay and told protesting witnesses: "This is how you get your dog to swim."

One witness told the Daily Mail: "He picked up the collie dog which appeared to be struggling against the top level of the wall and just threw the dog off into the sea below.

"It happened so fast I just screamed.

"I thought he was just losing the plot. I thought the dog was dead but it suddenly surfaced.

"It was constantly howling and trying to get up the steps."

A second witness on the pier said an "agitated and intoxicated" Sanders swore at her about her own dogs a few moments before the incident.

The two women reported him to the police, and he was arrested soon afterwards.

He denied being drunk and in court said he was deeply sorry for his actions.

Susanna Whale, defending, described Sanders as a man "who loves his animals" adding: "This is one incident and he acted wrongly."

Chairman of the bench John Kiddey told the Daily Mail: "We consider this a very, very serious offence. We are not ruling out custody."

He said the act was made worse by the fact Sanders was drunk and the behaviour was displayed in front of children and people "who were clearly terrified".

He added: "When you pushed that dog over the edge you didn't know if there were rocks there or not."

He was was granted unconditional bail until next month.

Related articles

Owner watches in horror as labrador mauled to death by a seal at beach

Dog survives 11-mile ride after being hit by car


Sign up to our weekly newsletterFollow us on TwitterBecome a fan on Facebook