Dad Gets Jail Time For Killing Family Cat

(AP)  A man was sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting he forced his 7-year-old daughter to kill the family cat by holding a knife in her hand and making her stab the pet.

"I am extremely sorry for what I did," Daniel J. Collins said during his sentencing Thursday. "Everything is my responsibility."

Collins, 39, pleaded guilty to a felony count of animal cruelty and two felony counts of neglect of a dependent. In exchange, prosecutors dropped three other felony charges.

"This is not civilized conduct," Judge Robert Barnet Jr. said as he sentenced Collins.

Under the plea agreement, Collins also must receive counseling and attend parenting classes and substance abuse treatment. The judge also prohibited Collins from owning a pet.

Collins was arrested March 13 after police said he forced his daughter to stab Boots, the family's 8-month-old cat. The girl and Collins' 11-year-old son said their father ordered them to stab the cat because he wanted them to "learn to kill."

Police said the boy tried to hide the cat from his father, but Collins found the animal and strangled it as his children watched.

Collins said he was intoxicated at the time and remembered little about what happened that day.

Deputy Prosecutor Judi Calhoun said she was outraged by the crime but agreed to the plea deal so that the children would not have to testify against their father.

Defense attorney Steve Bruce said Collins, a Navy veteran, has no previous felony convictions.

[antoniof123]

There are trolls in all forums,. it''''s best just to ignore them and report abuse.
People who abuse others, whether people or animals, are cowards. They deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
I expect to get flamed, so I''''ll report it when it happens. :)

Posted by markofkane at 06:25 AM : Sep 01, 2008

I not going to flame you I agree with you and I also report abuse. You are right about it and bullies need to be punished.

[marrofkane]

There are trolls in all forums,. it''s best just to ignore them and report abuse.
People who abuse others, whether people or animals, are cowards. They deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
I expect to get flamed, so I''ll report it when it happens. :)

[nurse70-2009]

OMG! THIS MONSTER SHOULD NEVER BE LEFT ALONE WITH THESE POOR CHILDREN. THIS IS A TWISTED CASE OF ABUSE AND I CAN''T IMAGINE WHAT ELSE HE HAS PUT THESE YOUNGSTERS THROUGH. HE ONLY GOT CAUGHT THIS TIME BUT I''M SURE IT IS NOT ISOLATED TO THIS EPISODE. HE DOES NOT DESERVE A FAMILY. AND THE KIDS DEFINETLY DO NOT DESERVE THIS CREEP!!!! THEY SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE HOME BECAUSE THE FEAR MUST BE OVERWHELMING FOR THEM.

[scnitelifelv]

Nancy_Naive
Stupid joke from a really stupid person.
Did your parents have any children that werent brain dead moron fools like you?

[marrofkane]

The father needs extensive psychiatric treatment. Alcohol is no excuse, for alcohol lowers a person''s inhibitions to do something he may not do when sober, but still could. I too, want the father eviscerated, but we live in a "civilized" society, where not everyone is civilized.

[hope4usall1]

I don''t know how much time he deserves in prison, but he was abusing those children and he deserves time for that. Whether you think it was cruel to kill a pet or not, he was abusing his children. To the person who asked "how he forced her?". HE HELD THE KNIFE IN HER HAND and FORCED HER. she was 7 and probably in fear of what he would do to her and her brother with that same knife.

[libra127]

Posted by brachia at 07:32 AM : Aug 31, 2008

Your story touches my heart. Thank you for telling it. Every good wish to you in your efforts to heal. What a horrendous ordeal you went through. I too am glad this horrible father''s actions have been recognized for the crime they are. Your parents'' actions should have been too. God bless you!

[brachia-2009]

This actually happened to me at 7 yrs old & my cat. I can tell you that 30 yrs later -- I have not been able to forget it. I had to carry the cat into the woods and tie it up and watch as my father shot it with his rifle. My father wasn''t drunk, my mother was there and knew about it and no one said or did anything. Upper middle class family. At the time I was told that I was being taught something important and felt and still feel so guilty for participating in the crime (I was too obedient, related to his overall ''parenting''). Once I was ready to deal with it, +20 yrs -- went to siblings & "parents" and asked them about it I was shocked and felt even further victimized when they all remembered, vividly, but hadn''t spoken with me about it, ever. At the time I wished there was a precedent, like this, to prove that it was a crime. I am not close to them a get a lot of *** from them and outsiders for my behavior (I keep my distance). At times I even doubt myself -- having this recognized as a crime is so, so important for this man''s children and they will be fine because they obviously have family that cares for them as they quickly took action against this jerk and will hopefully support them if they want to excise their father from their lives.

[tmittelstaed]

Horrendous crime. Where the hell is the mother?

[erose001]

This act of child abuse is a form of torture for the children and is, as others have commented, a gateway act of cruelty by the person towards other humans, which in this case was all rolled into one horrible event. I was a victim of child torture, and of all the horrible things that happened to me, nothing was more horrible than being forced to kill small animals "to learn to kill." This a**w*p* needs to do hard time. When the other prisoners learn that he tortures children and animals, it may be a short sentence, but let''s hope they give him a taste of his own medicine.
P.S. Killing one''s pet accidentally is tragic but is not even in the same category as this, so using it as an example is inappropriate to this story. This is deliberate torture. It''s even in the torture manuals used at Gitmo and SOA. I don''t know the circumstances, but if animal cruelty laws were used against someone for a genuine accident, wrongful prosecution is a justifiable civil action. This event was NOT wrongful prosecution, and two children have been irreparably harmed as a result of being forced to watch/participate as a beloved sentient creature was ruthlessly murdered for no reason other than the fact that too many humans are sick, sick people.