A North East man has been banned from keeping animals for life after his elderly dog was found dead in suspicious circumstances. John Bagnall caused unnecessary suffering to his terrier-type dog, Jake, by inflicting blunt force trauma on the pet.
On October 29 last year, the RSPCA was sent to investigate following claims Jake had been beaten. Inspector Christine Nisbet went to Bagnall's house in Wansbeck Grove, Consett, and was told he had found his 16-year-old dog dead the previous morning and had initially thought he was asleep.
Investigation and veterinary findings
She asked the 38-year-old what he did with the body and he informed her that he had thrown it onto some wasteland at the rear of his house so that the foxes could eat it. He led her to the area and she found the body of Jake, which she took for a veterinary examination.
A veterinary surgeon examined Jake's body and took a series of x-rays. The x-rays showed multiple fractures to his ribs, of varying ages, and the vet stated that Jake had suffered.
The vet said in a statement: “X-rays revealed multiple rib fractures of differing ages. Ribs are pliable and mobile structures. They are difficult to break. It requires significant blunt force trauma to break a rib. The rib fractures were on non-adjacent ribs, on different sides and at different levels. They were at different stages of healing.”
Court proceedings and sentence
Bagnall appeared at Peterlee Magistrates' Court on September 16 and was given a 24-week jail sentence, suspended for two years, after he pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. In mitigation, the court was told that Jake had fallen down the stairs and that Bagnall is autistic.
He was also ordered to pay £300 with a victim surcharge of £154. Speaking at the conclusion of the case, Inspector Nisbet said: “I would like to thank those who reported this incident to us - it is awful to think of the suffering Jake endured over months. Every living creature deserves a life free from suffering and filled with compassion.”
