The King County Prosecutor's Office today filed a charge of animal cruelty in the first degree against a Covington man who is accused in the brutal beating of a Labrador with a golf club last Sunday.

According to court documents, the attack was so severe that the head of the golf club broke off. The defendant John McCafferty is also accused of stabbing the dog, whose name is Oully, with the sharp end of the broken golf club.

The man's 21-year-old daughter tried to stop McCafferty from beating Oully with the golf club. The black Labrador, which survived the attack, was treated for his injuries at an emergency animal clinic.

"This was a brutal attack on a innocent family pet. This is exactly the kind of case we had in mind when we asked the Washington State Legislature to give us tougher animal cruelty laws," said King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng.

Maleng said the legislature passed changes to Washington's animal cruelty laws, along with increased sentence ranges, in 1994. Animal cruelty in the first degree, which is a class "C" felony, applies to acts of deliberate cruelty. Animal cruelty in the second degree, a gross misdemeanor, is used in cases of animal neglect.

McCafferty, 40, is currently in jail on $25,000 bail pending arraignment on February 7 at the Regional Justice Center in Kent. If convicted as charged, the defendant could face up to one year in jail. The maximum sentence for animal cruelty in the first degree is five years in prison.


Dated: January 25, 2006