A 73-year-old Minto man broke down in tears in a New Brunswick court on Friday, saying it was the worst day in his life when he killed his five dogs with a hammer.

Keith Barton was in Burton provincial court where he was on trial for six charges of injuring or endangering animals and three charges of failing to give proper care to his 13 Pomeranian dogs.

Barton told the court he thought he had the right to kill his dogs and he didn't want the SPCA to take his dogs. He testified that he couldn't let the seizure happen because he "loved the dogs so desperately."

"It was the worst day of my life when I had to do that to my babies," he said.

He said he didn't want his dogs to suffer so he used what he had, a carpenter's hammer, to hit each dog once on the back of the head.

Barton said he would have killed all of the dogs if he had more time.

The Minto man said he thought he had a right to put his dogs down but a provincial veterinary pathologist said Barton's tactics were not an acceptable method of euthanasia for dogs.

He said it would have taken three to five minutes for the dogs to die.

The court adjourned until Jan. 7 to offer lawyers for each side time to submit opinions on a point of law regarding Barton's belief that he thought he could destroy the dogs because they were his property.

In April, officials from the SPCA, accompanied by workers from the central New Brunswick village animal control office, arrived at Barton's kennel to seize the Pomeranians after it was found that the property did not meet kennel standards.

Barton was observed playing with the dogs in the yard before taking several of the animals into a shed. When officials later went into the shed to collect the animals, five dogs were found dead and one was seriously injured.