Owner kicked pet 'like football'

A man who threw, punched and kicked his pet dog "as if it was a football" has been jailed and banned from keeping animals.

A witnesses to the "brutal" attack on the Staffordshire bull terrier, said it made him feel physically sick. Gary Paul Stevens, aged 44, of Stone Street, Dudley, was banned from keeping a pet for five years, with an order that the RSPCA retained his dog, Max. Magistrates also added eight weeks to a 13-month sentence Stevens was already serving.

The court heard a statement from Jonathon Hall, who pulled over in his car after spotting a drunken Stevens dragging the animal over wasteland in Hall Street, Dudley, last May, before picking it up and hurling it to the floor.

"I then watched him kick the dog in his rib area as if he was kicking a football, three or four times," he said.

"He went back to the dog and hit it with the lead. I do not like dogs personally, but the way this dog was treated was sick and inhumane.

"It appeared to be an unprovoked attack on a defenceless dog and it made me feel physically sick."

A vet who inspected the animal said it had been rendered temporarily lame after receiving severe bruising to its hind legs, but that it went on to make a full recovery.

Another witness, Helen Marshall, said she saw what appeared to be a "deliberate and brutal attack".

"The dog did not appear to be able to walk or move," she said.

"He repeatedly kicked the dog and punched it with a closed fist. At one point he missed the dog and staggered back, as if drunk."

Simon Davies from the RSPCA, said Max had not yet been rehoused and welcomed the verdict.

"We are thankful to the witnesses for having the strength to come forward," he said. "Without them, there is a strong possibility this dog would have sustained similar beatings for the rest of its life."

Stevens pleaded guilty to the charge of causing an animal unnecessary cruelty.

Mr Simon Hanns, defending, said Stevens had been drinking at home before downing seven pints in a pub with friends. He said Stevens claimed to be an "animal lover" and had previously assisted the RSPCA by reporting a dog that had been beaten to death.

By Richard Williams