CONVICTED (2024) | Dontea West, born c. 2005, of Hilliards Croft, Great Barr, Birmingham B42 2ED – inflicted multiple injuries, including burns, on his puppy.
West spun a web of lies about how his five-month-old bully, Pepsi, had acquired a catalogue of horrific injuries.
In court he pleaded guilty to failing to provide vet treatment for the dog’s rib fractures and was found guilty of four more offences following a trial.
The court heard how the RSPCA had been contacted by a member of the public who was concerned for Pepsi’s welfare.
Inspector Vicki Taylor said in her witness statement: “Pepsi was clearly lame on the back end and was extremely wobbly, his back left leg was not weight-bearing.
“West informed me that he had fallen on the dog when carrying Pepsi down the stairs and injured the dog.
“The front left leg of the dog Pepsi also looked misshapen and abnormally bendy. There was fur loss on the side of the dog, which West stated was a burn as he’d had a hot drink which the dog had knocked over and burned himself with.”
Inspector Taylor took Pepsi to RSPCA’s animal hospital in Birmingham where X-rays showed multiple rib fractures and a fracture to the left side of his neck, all of which had healed on their own.
A vet witness who investigated the case said in a statement presented to court that Pepsi, while in the care of West, had sustained a number of skeletal fractures on various parts of his body, as well as a scald injury to the right side of the chest which was ‘not consistent’ with an accidental spillage of a hot drink.
The statement added: “Rib fractures are a common abuse finding in cats and dogs. In animal abuse cases, rib fractures may occur due to focal application of force, which includes the animal being struck, kicked, stomped or thrown against a blunt object. The finding of bilateral rib fractures is a strong suspicious indicator of abuse.”
The court heard that West had been diagnosed with “mental health issues”,
Speaking after the sentencing, Inspector Taylor said: “West stated that Pepsi received these injuries accidentally, but following a trial the courts decided otherwise. It is heart-breaking that Pepsi was treated in this way.”
Pepsi has since been rehomed.
Sentencing | three-month prison sentence for animal cruelty with a further two-month sentence for possessing a bladed article and one-month sentence for assault. All custodial sentences to run consecutively. Banned from keeping animals for 10 years (expires August 2034).