Dog Lovers of the World Unite

Jury acquits Spanaway man of bestiality charge

By The Associated Press

TACOMA — A Pierce County jury has acquitted a man accused of having sex with the family dog.

Michael Patrick McPhail, 26, of Spanaway, was found not guilty Wednesday in Pierce County Superior Court of first-degree animal cruelty.

Assistant Pierce County Prosecutor Karen Watson said last fall that McPhail was the first person charged in the county under a new state law that made bestiality a felony.

"I'm glad that justice was able to see it wasn't an action of my doing," McPhail said as he left the court building.

He said he believes his wife made up the story because she is seeking to end their marriage.

It was Jesika McPhail who contacted police and told them she'd caught her husband engaged in sexual intercourse with their pit bull, Sara, last October. Jesika McPhail was not immediately available for comment about the verdict.

The case generated outrage among animal welfare advocates across the globe, many of whom called for McPhail to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Deputy Prosecutor Brian Leech, who tried the case, said he was disappointed.

"Obviously, I thought the facts were more than sufficient to merit a conviction," Leech said. "The defense was able to introduce some evidence about strife in the marriage. I don't think that was supported, but apparently the jury gave it some weight."

The new law, which took effect last June, was prompted by a case in which a Seattle man died after having sex with a horse. Before the law was enacted, Washington was among roughly a dozen states where bestiality had not been explicitly prohibited.

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company




The Savage Opinion: Well, this is right around my neck of the woods, so I imagine it's pertinent. I know in Washington, we have pretty lax rules concerning whom a person could commune and have relationships with. God bless that--I'm 100% for people loving whoever it is they love--true love being as rare a find as it is...that said, I think that the phrase "dogs are a man's best friend" is meant to be strictly platonic...I mean, I guess whoever it was that invented that little bit of wisdom could've been just trying to use the "friendship card" to get into said dog's good graces...and then hit them, BAM, with..."Look, I've been thinking...what are we doing...??? We're not getting any younger, and...I do see you as a friend...but I want to see you as more than a friend...

But I don't think so.

A few words of wisdom from the great urban poet O'shea Jackson on this important topic:
"Here is the reason why Ice Cube pack
Just in case the little punks try to jack
I can't put a mother****in pitbull
under a coat, in the small of my back"

Ahhhhhhh...good verse always helps to explain the more profound experiences in life.