An airline pilot has avoided jail after drowning his neighbour's pet dog in a bucket to stop it from barking.



Stephen Woodhouse killed border terrier Meg, who was bought as a gift for his neighbours' late, disabled 10-year-old daughter.



Woodhouse, 53, drowned the dog in his garden then used a knife to cut open the carcass to remove a microchip and cover his tracks, a court heard.

Stephen Woodhouse drowned Meg the dog. (SWNS)

The Flybe pilot, from Long Buckby, Northants, later told police: 'I just had to stop the noise'.



The pet had originally been bought as eight-week old puppy by Alan and Alison Boddington for their seriously ill daughter Lauren, who passed away in 2008.



Following Lauren's death the dog became a valued part of the family and was 'the one thing' they had left of her.



Woodhouse had reached over the Boddington's garden fence and picked up the dog 'by the scruff of the neck' and dragged it onto his property last July.





























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He then plunged its head into a bucket of water and held it there until it stopped moving.



On Wednesday, Woodhouse was given a 12 week custodial sentence, suspended for two years at Corby Magistrates' Court.



He had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal at an earlier hearing.



Alan, 48, and Alison, 50, bought border collie Meg for Lauren who was born with severe brain damage and died of an acute asthma attack shortly after her tenth birthday.



The court heard Woodhouse had attempted to dump the body of the dog on three occasions after he killed the beloved family pet.



















First he planned to dispose of the animal by a hedge row in Long Buckby Wharf and later considered areas around Birmingham Airport and Ashby St Ledgers.



Police visited Woodhouse at home the following week after Alison had noticed dog hairs inside the Flybe pilot’s boot and informed police.



During that visit he admitted what he had done and the body was recovered from the house.



RSPCA prosecutor Kevin McCole read extracts of Woodhouse's police interview to the court.



He said: 'The defendant told the police in interview, 'I just reached my hands down,’ ‘it was an act if stupidity, of desperation I suppose. I just had to stop the noise.'



Sara-Lise Howe, defending, said Woodhouse had become distressed by the dog’s barking and had suffered a heart attack a year earlier.



She said: 'He had no idea how it happened. 'He just lost his wits. He just wanted the dog to stop it.'



























Miss Howe added that the incident had 'divided' the village of Long Buckby and that the last year had been a 'living hell' for the pilot.



Speaking outside court Mr Boddington said the pet was 'lovely-natured' and didn't cause a lot of noise.



He said: 'She was only a small dog, it’s not like she was a big loud thing that was causing a lot of noise.



'We got Meg as an eight-week-old puppy for our daughter who was special needs as a little companion and obviously she became a very important part of our family.



'We have got lots of memories of Lauren and Meg together and it has traumatised the children and all of us are very, very upset.'



When Meg went missing, the Boddington's other daughter Alexandra, 19, posted a notice on the National Dogs Trust website.

























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