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A man has been jailed over a violent home invasion where a poodle was shot in the head. Warning: This story contains a close-up image of an injured dog. Late at night in December 2023, Rosie the poodle was shot by an intruder in her owner's motorhome on the New South Wales Central Coast. "She miraculously survived; it was so close to hitting her left eye," Rosie's owner, Diane Mooney, said. The details of how the shooting unfolded were heard at Gosford Local Court today as the offender, Shay Horn, was sentenced to eight years' prison for drug possession, robbery and firearm offences. In court, Ms Mooney was surrounded by friends pinned with photos of "#Justice4Rosie" on their shirts. The court heard that Horn and an unknown conspirator entered Ms Mooney and her partner John Connell's motorhome at The Entrance North with their faces covered. The intruders held the couple at gunpoint, stealing hundreds of dollars from Mr Connell's wallet. The unknown offender directed Horn to shoot barely one-year-old Rosie, who was sitting on Ms Mooney's lap. Horn's legal team said that long-term mental health struggles and substance use led him to be "easily led by others". The then 32-year-old Horn was arrested the morning after the incident and found to be in possession of several illicit drugs. Rosie, the survivor Ms Mooney said the incident had caused Rosie to have significant social anxiety and fear of unknown people. "[Her eye] has healed, but she's different; I think she has some difficulty seeing, and she dissociates. "She's a mum now and living her best life with her pups." Horn has been in custody since he was arrested in December 2023 and, with time already served, will be eligible for parole in 2027. Ms Mooney said she was surprised by the sentence length handed down by Judge David Wilson. "I thought she would be considered an animal cruelty case, but it was collated into the firing of a firearm and the burglary." In his deliberation, Judge Wilson stated that the offence was "without purpose, and with no other means other than to cause harm", but noted that Horn showed extended remorse to both the human and non-human victims of the offence.
