Sydney  - An Australian who strangled his wife for waking up his dog and then went out for a drink at his local pub was sentenced to prison Friday by a Melbourne court.

Anthony Sherna, who pleaded not guilty to killing Susanne Wild, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 14 years in jail for the 2008 slaying.

It had been Sherna's habit to rock his beloved Jack Russell terrier to sleep each night. He told police Wild had roused the dog with her shouting and that he had pulled the cord from his dressing gown and strangled her.

"I just wanted to kill her," he told police. (dpa)