A MAN battered a dog to death with a baseball bat – because he thought it was “old and smelly”.
Jack Russell Emmy died at the hands of David Knight, of Hurstwood, Deighton, in an horrific, drink-fuelled attack.
Huddersfield
Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday how a vet said Emmy had been
repeatedly struck around the head with the bat and would have died in
severe pain.
Knight, 45, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal by beating it to death.
He was jailed for five months.
Tanya
Forret, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said on July 17 last year the RSPCA
received a call from the dog’s “distressed” owner Robert Van Delft.
Mrs
Forret said: “The owner said Knight had attacked the dog with a
baseball bat and hit the dog and continued to hit it until it was dead.”
The vicious attack happened on Brooklands in Bradley in Mr Van Delft’s living room.
Mr
Van Delft told the RSPCA officer attending the scene that Knight had
thought the dog was too old and smelly and had decided to kill it.
In a statement he said: “And then without warning, I saw him reach to the side of the settee and pick up the baseball bat.”
Mr Van Delft then saw Knight smash Emmy in the face and head with the baseball bat four times.
Emmy was lying on the floor whimpering before Knight hit her another three to four times.
Mr Van Delft said: “Emmy then went quiet and I knew she had died.”He picked up his pet and cradled her in his arms before the RSPCA
officer arrived. During his interview with the RSPCA, Knight said the
dog was 15-years-old and was ready to die.
He said he had told Mr Van Delft many times to take her to the vet.
He said: “The dog was too old and Mr Van Delft kept picking her up like a teddy bear and cuddling her.”
Mrs Forret said Emmy was found buried in the front garden and had to be dug back up.
She was covered in blood and her eyeball had dislodged.
Vet Julia Froom, from Donaldson and Partners Veterinary Surgeons, examined the dog’s body.
She
said Emmy hadn’t been killed by the first blow with the bat but had
been “repeatedly beaten with a great deal of force” and died from
multiple fractures and haemorrhages.
She said the dog would have suffered a great deal of pain.
Kathryn
Watson, defending Knight, said he had known Mr Van Delft for many years
and had gone back to his house after a night out drinking. Miss Watson
said Knight had said he and Mr Van Delft had agreed that he would kill
the dog to “put it out of its misery”.
She said: “Mr Knight had worked on farms and said he knew how to end an animal’s life.
“He accepts that Mr Van Delft changed his mind – but he was in drink and he couldn’t see the dog suffer any longer.
“The back legs of the dog were still kicking so he hit it a further two times to make sure he ended its life.”
Chairman of the magistrates Elizabeth Rogan sentenced Knight to five months in prison.
She said: “This offence is so serious that only immediate custody is appropriate.
“This is a systematic, violent attack using a weapon on a vulnerable dog for gratuitous pleasure.”
She said Knight’s previous convictions showed violence.
Knight is banned from keeping animals for life.

give the bastard to me i'd make sure he could never have kids for life let alone an animal

horrific

makes me so sad for the poor dog, how sick is this guy

Couldnt read the whole article but the b****** ought to have the same pain inflicted on him!!!!!

That poor poor dog.

i couldnt read it all either lorz ....

so so sad... the poor animal and owner.... and the bastard that did it got a measly 5mths... and even then he would only serve half of that

horrible he needs beating with the bloody bat, poor little dog.

Hope he gets a good kicking in prison

o'm g thats only 5 mins away from our house, people make you fooking sick, let someone do the same to that sick bastard

OMG..How that poor little dog must have suffered
Fookin Sicko...