A Winnipeg man who turned an East Kildonan garage into an impromptu passion pit paid a stiff price yesterday for his heavy petting session with a stuffed toy dog.

The 27-year-old man pleaded guilty to mischief and break, enter and theft and was sentenced to six months in jail.

Court heard Winnipeg police were called shortly before 6 p.m. on March 26 after a Chelsea Avenue resident spotted the man breaking into her garage. The man exited the garage a short time later and moved on to a neighbour's garage, where he stole a lawn mower, a mountain bike, a blanket and a stuffed toy dog.

The man eventually returned to the first garage, where police found him nearly two hours later passed out inside a boat.

"He was lying there with his genitalia exposed next to the stuffed dog," said Crown attorney John Peden. "While the police report doesn't describe it this way, the dog might be appropriately characterized as now being anatomically correct, as opposed to its condition before he removed it."

Defence lawyer Chris McCoy said his client, who has a history of domestic violence offences and court breaches, gets himself into trouble when he has been drinking.

"All (his offences) involve being drunk, usually drunk as a skunk," he said.

Judge Charles Newcombe said the man wasn't entitled to leniency given his prior record.

"Hopefully this time in custody will be sufficient for him to enrol in an (alcohol) treatment program and complete it," Newcombe said.

Newcombe said the "unusual circumstances" of the incident justified an order that the man provide police with a DNA sample.

A Winnipeg psychologist said sex acts involving stuffed animals are not entirely uncommon.

"There are people who have a variety of sexual predilections, some have to do with plush animals," said Toby Rutner. "There are some people who will even dress up in animal costumes."

He added a plush fetish would be akin to a leather or plastic fetish.

As many people are reluctant to admit to fetishes, Rutner wouldn't hazard a guess as to how common it is to be attracted to plush animals.