A man who dressed up a stray sheep in a T-shirt and shorts for a prank saw it go badly wrong when he dropped the animal over a wall into a garden with three dogs.
Mr Christopher Hutch (22), Sherrard Street, Dublin, was fined £250 for cruelty to the sheep which he found near his home on February 7th last year.
Garda Alan Toft told the Dublin District Court the sheep was taken to the flat where Mr Hutch lived and dressed up in a T-shirt and shorts. It was then brought to a nearby home of one of Mr Hutch's friends and dropped over a six-foot wall into the friend's rear garden.
There were three dogs in the garden, which attacked the sheep. It survived and was brought to a farm in Co Meath.
Mr Hutch told the court he had never meant any harm to come to the sheep but had done it as a prank to surprise his friend when he came home to find a sheep in his garden.
His lawyer said Mr Hutch had £500 in court for charity and appealed to Judge Timothy Lucey not to impose a conviction. The court heard he had five previous convictions, and had been bound to the peace of two years.
Judge Lucey said he could impose a prison sentence. But in view of the fact that he had pleaded guilty, he would be fined £250.
Judge Lucey ordered that the £500 go to the ISPCA and that Mr Hutch also pay £100 towards veterinary fees incurred by the State.