Mission Viejo man arrested on charges of beating neighbor's dog with a rake

A Mission Viejo man who was angered by a barking dog allegedly broke into a neighbor’s house and beat the German shepherd with a garden rake, leaving the animal with puncture wounds and permanent loss of vision, authorities said Thursday.

Michael Stuart Patterson, 51, of Mission Viejo is charged with residential burglary and animal cruelty, both felonies.

An Orange County district attorney’s spokeswoman said Patterson kicked open the front door of a neighbor’s house about 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, angry at the dog’s incessant barking.

The man found the dog on a patio in the backyard and started hitting it with a rake, striking the dog until it suffered puncture wounds to its face, prosecutors said.

The 5-year-old dog suffered permanent vision loss from the wounds, authorities said.

Patterson, who is scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon, faces a maximum sentence of six years and eight months in state prison.

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Comments

[Believable]

I bet as he did it he screamed "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The owner probably leaves the dog alone to bark incessantly, which is enough to drive anyone insane.

We toss the German-Shepherd-Next-Door drugged meat to shut her up...

[My view means nothing]

I can understand the guy's frustration, but this is not the way to get the dog to shut up! There are definite legal ways to go to stop the barking dog that don't involve a rake.

[Doggone it]

There should be tougher laws that protect citizens from irresponsible pet owners. This probably wasn't the first occurence of "incessant barking" by the dog. There are many irresponsible and inconsiderate pet owners that do not control there pets and have no business owning one. However the offenders act of burgurlarizing the and abusing the dog to get him stop barking is way too extreme.

[TEE]

I know how the guys feels german shepherds can bark non stop for hours. But he should have taken the matter to the owner not the dog.

[CarlitosWay]

im an disgusted in the judicial system. this guy will only six years max for breaking into neighbors home and beat a defenseless dog..he should be tried for a attempt of murder for beating someones the neighboors family member. because that dog is now blind. and also right below this story audrinas stalker get too years. which im sure the guy who beat the dog will stay in jail less time than the guy stalking a z list celebrity.

this guy should feel what the dog felt instead of jail by hit him senseless with a rake.. i cant even imagine what the family of that dog are going thru.. so sad

[Vanessa]

Lock. Him. Up.

[braveperro]

I hope he gets the maximum prison sentence, he will get what he deserves in prison.

I wonder what he would have done if they were a bunch of kids playing, yelling and scream all day next to his home. I bet the neighbors have him in their crosshairs now.

He nothing but walking garbage. What a coward!!!

[KrissyinLA]

Give me a rake and let me have a go at the SOB!

[Astonished]

After he paid all the vet bills, I guarantee he wouldn't do that again anytime soon to one of my animals!

I wonder if he takes baseball bats to children who play too loudly in front of his home too!

[Lucentio]

This era dogs are used as passive-aggressive, anti-social weapons: what bullets are to guns, barking is to dogs. Barking kills--a slow, painful death from a million bee stings. Communities should focus on the root cause of the conflict between barking dog and innocent human: the barking is the root cause. It's the BARKING that's the source of the conflict. The source of the conflict is not the barking-sufferer's REACTION to barking, whatever that reaction may be. Chronic barking is molestation. The party at fault is the household with the barker(s). It doesn't matter what the sufferer-of-barking does to try to get the barking to stop--they feel desperate because they're not getting support from the outlying community to get the barking stopped. I'm not talking about partial-barking stopped--I mean 100%. The barking-sufferer has a right to enjoy his or her patch of real estate unmolested by barking. The barker needs to get gone.

In a conflict between one person and a dog, the human should win out every time. Human rights trump dog rights. Who is it who pays the mortgage or rent? Not dogs. Why do we as society give dogs more rights than people? Barking is a serious offense: barking makes people--literally--insane. Chronic barking causes the barking-sufferer to not be able to meet his obligations in paying the mortgage or rent and put food on the table. People, obtaining dogs, who like to have their "own petty egos stroked," are clueless as to what it takes to truly care for a dog. Being the guardian of a dog is a lifelong commitment--it is similar as caring for a human infant--dogs cost money and take time--done properly--lots of both. Leaving dog(s) in a yard unattended and unloved is a hazard to anyone not the owner who is within earshot of the barking. A barker is a menace. A barker is a health hazard. A barker is an "ignored" dog--it's time we see chronic barking for what it is: ANIMAL NEGLECT. Animal neglect has serious consequences! Things have to be done, by the community, on behalf of the barking-sufferer, in its laws, fines, punishments, jail-time, impounding dog, or seizure of dog-owner's vehicles.

Communities should give power to law enforcement to seize yard barkers without the dog owner's knowledge, impound the dog(s). Or 6 months in jail. Or a US$1,000 (GBP£700) fine.

Dog-haters are made, not born. Residents become hostile after years of their communities having more sympathy for barkers than for barking-sufferers, communities who spit on human need for peace and quiet where they live. Having dogs growing up, I used to like dogs. No more. Now I loathe dogs. Barkers are REALLY, REALLY bad public-relations for canines in general. Barking gives the whole canine species a bad reputation. Responsible dog owners should pressure "arrant dog owners who condone chronic barking" to STOP THE BARKING.

You know, how would you feel if you went to poop in your own toilet, the next-door neighbor's dog heard you from outside, barked continuously 5 feet from where you're doing your business? How would you feel if you put a dish in the microwave oven, the other next-door neighbor's dog heard you from outside, barked continuously 5 feet from where you're trying to eat a pleasant meal? How would you feel if the phone rings, answer it, the next-door neighbor's dog heard you from outside, barked continuously 5 feet from where you're trying to have a conversation where you yell into the phone "I can't hear you. What'd you say?" How would you feel if the only place you could sleep was on the floor in a closet located on the other side of the house? (This really happened.) And finally, how would you feel if this went on, day and night, for five years? Answer honestly, because you would not have had a good night's sleep in five years. How would YOU feel?

Mediation implies there is something to mediate, as if with chronic barking there is middle-ground or compromise. Dogs have no business around human dwelling areas. Sorry, but I'm not going to compromise my physical need for a safe and sane soundscape around my home. The dog leaves.

Dogs are "guests" and as such, must behave. If dogs don't behave, banish them.

[tanya]

Sick bastard.....

[Buzz in Solvang]

I hope they give him the maximum. PLUS.

[Mrs. Patterson]

poor doggie

[Mrs. Patterson]

someone needs to beat him with a rake!

[Marcy]

...or breaking and entering.

[T1ny]

What an A@#HOLE! Poor dog!

[braveperro]

I am amazed how the LA times will post "Lucentio" endless ranting but they wont post my two paragraph of my comment regarding animal abuse. Thanks Steve Marbles, you have lost your Marbles.

[Mary]

"Why do we as society give dogs more rights than people?"

If a person was beaten in their home and lost an eye there clearly would be a longer jail sentence than 6 years. If a person broke into a house and beat a crying baby, there would certainly be hell to pay. If the person had half a brain they would of talked to the homeowner to try and resolve the issue, then called the police or animal control if the barking persisted. There are several nuisance laws in effect to help people in situations like these. Not saying the system is perfect or that it would have resolved it but resulting to violence is never the answer.

Lucentio - Your post jumps to several conclusions such as assuming the bark barked all the time, to the point that it was molesting people. There is no evidence to show that he was harassing the neighborhood or even that person. Maybe the guy is just an angry jerk who lost it.

Do you even know how long the person has had the dog? He adopted him, thus maybe he is a recent addition and the neighbor is just a dog hater.

The video shows the owner saying the neighbor never talked to him. Are you telepathic and know something more than this article conveys? Why do you assume the owner is careless and the animal is neglected? Seems like you spent a whole lot of time writing out your response just to jump to conclusions about the severity of the barking situation and to pity Patterson. Who knows, maybe you are Patterson and feel compelled to get people to side with you.

This man took it upon himself to break into his neighbors home and brutally beat a pet. There is no excuse for it.

[Dean McAdams]

I have a German shepherd and this guy's case needs to be permanently in front of the public. Thank you for this important reporting. I will be monitoring Mr. Patterson as he moves towards his eventual conviction and punishment. Two dog eyes are worth two human eyes and a hand!

[Dog Tired]

It once took me 9 MONTHS to get the owner of a dog to stop its barking, and I had to go to a meeting with the owner and a county bureaucrat. However, the cops can shut a noisy party down in minutes or quiet loud music; in some cities dogs have more rights to make noise than humans do.

[WrathofGod]

Mission Viejo, sounds like a great place to live if you like barking dogs and clueless creepy guys.

[WrathofGod]

Poor, poor dog - first neglected by the owner and then abused by the neighbor.

Clearly, the dog's owners were not home at the time of the attack to meet the needs of the dog to stop the barking. The dog was neglected. The dog is never the problem. The owner is always the problem. The owner needs to be cited, too.

The guy who attacked the dog - too bad he felt so powerless that he had to act out. He will pay for this for a long time - and it will be hard because he doesn't seem to have very many social skills. A man without compassion for a dog can have none for himself.

[Nancy Makowski]

How about getting a major petition going to the judge in this case to give this man at least 5 yrs for what he did to the poor German Shepherd and breaking and entering. Why do we allow these people to go free. Let's go people, get the petition going. If somethibg us not done about these low life people, more of this will happen and maybe to one of our dogs..

[Natalia]

So...if my baby cries like mad, will someone break into my house and beat her to death? Just because my neighbor was "annoyed"? Just an honest question. Both baby and dog alke are helpless, so to speak....

[Lucca]

I hope that this creep gets a just punishment for beating and severely injuring and blinding a defenseless animal.

I wonder how many other animals and people have been beaten in the past by this very cruel coward.