A judge has found a Scarborough man guilty of intentionally killing his dog by throwing it off a Scarborough balcony nearly two years ago.
The judge-only trial heard from five witnesses about how Adrian Foster, 26, acted leading up to and immediately after the dog was thrown from the 7th floor balcony of his bachelor apartment on November 7, 2016.
The verdict was handed down at the University Avenue Courthouse Thursday afternoon. Foster was convicted on two charges, including killing a dog kept for a lawful purpose.
He was given a suspended sentence (nine months time served) due to two earlier convictions for escape lawful custody and assault resist arrest dating back to 2012 and 2014, for which he has spent time in solitary confinement. The judge also gave him two years probation and a 10-year ban on possessing any animals.
Foster had previously been homeless and suffered from mental health issues. He moved into the highrise building in May or June 2016, around the same time he got his dog - said to be a beagle-cocker spaniel cross.
Two witnesses who lived in the building, as well as the superintendent, testified that there had been concerns as to how he was treating the dog. In addition, the neighbour living one floor below Foster had been upset with him for letting his dog defecate on the balcony and then washing it down, causing it to spread to the balcony below.
While none of the witnesses on the stand saw the dog being thrown, the son of one of the building's residents said Foster admitted to throwing his dog immediately after it happened, saying "I killed the dog. What are you going to do about it?" They also testified that he threw a bag of dog food over the balcony after the dog had been thrown.
Later that day, two police officers visited Foster at his apartment. They testified that he admitted to owning the dog, but would only say he threw the food - and not the dog - off the balcony.
When Foster took the stand, he said he never admitted to killing the dog and threw the food over because he thought the dog was hungry.
He also said he told police "my metaphysical health threw the dog off the balcony."
Ultimately, the judge came to her decision based on witnesses she said were honest and credible. She also said based on the shape of the balcony and how items were placed on it, it would have been impossible for the dog to have fallen accidentally.
After the verdict was read, Foster immediately became defensive and began swearing, accusing some of the witnesses of lying.