CONVICTED (2017) | Gavin Peter Doolan, born c. 1960, of Waverley Road, Sefton Park, Liverpool L17 8TZ – kicked a Jack Russell/corgi crossbreed so hard the little dog flew into the air
Horrifying footage filmed by a concerned passer-by shows the dog, named Sconehead, being kicked in the face while being walked by Doolan down a busy street in Dingle on August 16, 2017.
Such was the force of the attack, Sconehead was lifted into the air before flinching every time Doolan lashed out at concerned members of the public trying to protect the animal.
In court, Doolan admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and using threatening words or behaviour likely to cause alarm or distress.
After leaving court, local newspaper the ECHO confronted Doolan to ask if he’d like to comment on the incident, but he showed very little remorse and claimed he beat the dog because it had bitten him and his brother.
He told the reporter: “I didn’t beat up a dog, go away … I didn’t beat up a dog. I kicked a dog, so what?
“I kicked a dog, it f*g ripped the end of my finger off so I kicked it.
“Listen, the dog was biting him [Gavin’s brother] for months. I’m sat on the bus and it started chewing on my finger. I apologise, I pleaded guilty, You’re hounding me now.”
Visibly angry, Doolan then went on to claim people “shouldn’t be concerned about animals”.
He added: “I am remorseful. I shouldn’t have kicked the dog okay, what more do you want me to do? When a dog is hanging off your finger you might think differently.
“There was a six month old baby killed by a dog because the father was p****d on the couch. Not my dog, but people shouldn’t be concerned about animals.
“Animals are like secondary, you should consider children more than animals.
“I’ve been threatened and everything over that dog. People on Facebook saying we’re going to this that and the other, so whatever.“
The court heard that Doolan had 31 previous convictions for unrelated offences and was last convicted in March 2017 of theft and battery.
Doolan was handed a 12-month community order and a home curfew on that occasion, meaning he was in breach of the order at the time of this incident.
Doolan told the court he had mental health issues and had been “unwell”, so had not seen the probation service since August or completed a thinking skills course.
Ms Fletcher requested further information from the probation service and an adjournment for a pre-sentence report, which was granted by magistrates.
Doolan was due to be sentenced in 22 January 2018 but no details were ever published in the press.
The dog, who was renamed Sconehead recovered from his ordeal and was rehomed.