AUSTRALIA --
Alistair Morgan, 45, has been charged over a shocking case of animal cruelty, accused of breaking into a neighbor’s home, beating and shooting her dog through the head with a spear gun on the NSW Central Coast.
Millie, a brown Labradoodle, has undergone surgery at a veterinary clinic in Sydney’s Homebush.
She’s now off life support and “doing quite well,” according to her owner Kim Lott, but they’ll “have to wait and see” as veterinarians slowly begin to wake the dog up.
Ms Lott says the sickening attack happened while she was at work, and was the result of a dispute with her 45-year-old neighbour of 15 years, a married father of four, over the dog barking.
Police allege the man forced entry into her Woy Woy home about midday yesterday, and beat Millie over the head.
Morgan broke into her home, tortured and tried to kill her dog
He then allegedly dragged the yelping dog out of the house to his fenceline, then threw her over the fence into his yard, where she became stuck between a fence and the garage wall.
Police say he then climbed on top of his storage shed, aimed and fired a spear gun at Millie, shooting her through the head.
Police say Morgan dragged Millie through the yard...
then threw her over the fence into his own yard
Ms Lott says she’s not holding up well in the wake of the attack.
“I’m just gutted,” she said. “He’s been a neighbour for 15 years, I don’t know what to say. I’m just gutted. She was a beautiful dog. My grandkids all loved her, she just loved the kids.
“I’m still in shock, I just can’t believe what’s happened. It’s such a beautiful dog – all because she was barking.”
Ms Lott said she took all steps to resolve the dispute with the neighbor, and never imagined her dog would be attacked.
“We’ve had talks about it, I’ve done everything I can, I’ve rung the ranger, I’ve guarded my house up so they don’t see the dog, because the dog does not like the man next door.”
She said she’s heard from neighbours the man has thrown things at the fence and “agitated” Millie in the past.
She said she also put up security cameras around her house to monitor how long the dog was barking, and that it amounted to about an hour per day, but that the cameras and surveillance equipment was stolen after the man entered her house.
Alistair Morgan, trying to hide his face from the press
Ms Lott also said the man pushed an outside barbeque against a doggie door, so the dog’s exit from the house was blocked.
Mille also suffered a collapsed lung, the result of what Ms Lott says was “a beating” at the hands of her neighbor.
“I just can’t believe it’s happened,” Ms Lott said.
She said she’d never had any problems with her neighbour before she got Millie.
“Only since I got my dog because it was barking,” she said.
Ms Lott said she no longer wants to live in her home knowing what her neighbor has allegedly done to her dog.
“I’m scared stiff now. I live by myself. Millie was my protector, slept with me all the time. Just a beautiful dog,” she said.
“She’s the best thing, she’s such a character.”
Alistair Morgan's wife wouldn't speak to the press
Alistair Morgan, 45, was arrested and charged with committing an act of aggravated animal cruelty, firing a spear gun to injure a person or property and breaking and entering into a house to steal goods worth less than $60,000.
He will front Gosford Local Court today.
(
TenPlay AU - January 23 2018)
