A man has been banned from keeping animals for life after striking a black labrador twice over the head with a hammer before fatally stabbing her. Glenn Tweedie appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court following the death of Caillie, whose treatment the Scottish SPCA described as one of the "most stomach-turning cases" it has ever investigated.
Inspector alerted after dog heard screaming
The animal welfare charity was alerted to an address in Loanhead, near Edinburgh, after a member of the public reported hearing the dog "screaming". An inspector attended the property and was met by Tweedie, who claimed he owned a female labrador called Caillie that had been put down several days earlier. He said he had taken the dog to a vet because she had been suffering pain from her reproductive cycle.
The inspector told Tweedie they would contact the vet to verify his account. However, upon returning to his van, Tweedie approached him and admitted he had killed Caillie himself because he could not afford the vet's fees and she was in pain.
Dog buried in shallow grave
Tweedie was cautioned but proceeded to describe what had taken place. He told the inspector that Caillie had been in pain in the back garden and was unable to stand. He then struck Caillie twice over the head with a large hammer, leaving her conscious and in tremendous pain, before stabbing her with a large knife.
Although he had aimed for the heart, he missed, piercing the dog's lung instead. The animal charity confirmed this meant Caillie effectively drowned in her own blood. Tweedie then placed Caillie's body in a black bag and buried her in a shallow grave in a nearby wooded area. The Scottish SPCA later recovered her remains after finding her concealed beneath branches at the bottom of a large ditch.
Post-mortem findings and sentencing
A post-mortem examination determined that Caillie's suffering would have commenced when she was struck on the head. The stab wound, a pathologist stated, would have resulted in "significant blood loss", which could have caused her to lose consciousness and ultimately die. The examination confirmed she showed no signs of any reproductive system pain.
Tweedie was handed a lifetime ban on keeping animals, a 12-month restriction of civil liberty order, and an 18-month supervision order. His other black labrador, Jura, was seized and placed in the care of the Scottish SPCA.
The inspector said: "In my three years working as an Inspector for the Scottish SPCA, this is the most upsetting case I've seen by an enormous margin and the most eye-wateringly violent conduct towards a completely innocent pet. Tweedie wrongly claimed Caillie was in immense pain, but in fact it was he who caused his animal to suffer in the most unimaginable way – both physically and mentally. To then dump Caillie in a ditch shows Tweedie's complete lack of remorse and how little regard he has for animals."
