CONVICTED (2023) | David Meteer, born December 1953, of West Ghyll Place, High Harrington, Workington CA14 5RS – threw his German Shepherd into a pool and hit him with a pipe.
Police were called to an address in High Harrington, Workington, at 7pm on June 17, 2022, to reports that a man was abusing his dogs.
Officers spoke to neighbours who provided videos of Meteer assaulting the dogs.
Pamela Fee, prosecuting, said the defendant was seen picking up the German Shepherd dog called Brody, and throwing him into a swimming pool.
Ms Fee said he was strangling the dog and hitting him with a blue pipe.
He was shouting at the dog, calling him a blonde bastard and a blonde tit.
Neighbours had captured the horrific abuse on their phones and the video footage was handed over to police.
The dog was seized by police and taken to the vet. He had breaking of the skin and whip marks.
Photos were provided by the vet which showed lacerations and injuries to the dog’s mouth, as well as other marks.
Meteer was interviewed by police and gave ‘no comment’ throughout. However, during arrest, he had admitted hitting the dog with a pipe and throwing him into a pool.
Ms Fee said the dog was ‘clearly terrified’ by the behaviour. She said it was a ‘deliberate attempt’ to cause suffering.
John Goodwin, defending, said Meteer had kept dogs for many years and had “lost it” following a fight between two German Shepherds which he owns.
District Judge John Temperley drew back from imposing a ban on keeping animals when passing sentence, after hearing numerous references which ‘spoke highly’ of Meteer, as well as the steps taken by a dog behaviour expert and with regards to anger management.
Meteer has now been reunited with five of the seven dogs.
Sentencing | 12-month community order with electronic tag; £6000 in compensation. No ban.