CONVICTED (2021) | Daniel Calvin Gair, born 2 September 1997, of 177 Hastings Street, Sunderland SR2 8SJ – beat a Yorkshire terrier to death.
Following a prosecution brought by the RSPCA, Dan Gair was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog.
The court heard how a Yorkshire Terrier called Billy was found dead by Gair’s then partner at the side of her bed when she woke up in October, 2019.
She wrapped him in a blanket, placed him in a box and took him to nearby vets who were suspicious of the nature of the injuries they found on his body and reported the matter to the RSPCA.
Gair denied having harmed Billy, claiming he had found him with diarrhoea on some of his fur so had washed him in the shower earlier that morning and dried him with a towel before returning him to the bedroom before he left for work.
However, when his partner woke and found Billy a couple of hours later, his coat was dry and not wet or even damp as might have been expected.
A post-mortem report revealed Billy had suffered collapsed lungs, damage to his heart, six fractured ribs, a protruding left eye and bruises on the underside of his neck, chest and head.
An expert veterinary witness with experience in non-accidental injuries concluded all of Billy’s injuries were acute and consistent with blunt force trauma and occurred shortly before he died.
The vet stated: “The injuries sustained were very severe including six fractured ribs and a number of areas of bruising. All these injuries are consistent with blunt force trauma.
“Rib fractures are a common abuse finding in animal abuse cases. Rib fractures may occur due to the focal application of force, which includes the animal being struck, kicked, stomped or thrown against a blunt object.
“The injuries detailed within the post mortem report cannot be explained by the dog having injured himself while in the home environment and are consistent with at least four applications of blunt force. These were found on the left side of the chest, right side of the chest, right side of the head and pelvis area.”
The findings showed Gair’s account was inconsistent with the veterinary evidence. The court stated they could not find any mitigation and they considered the offending so serious that it crossed the custody threshold.
Speaking about the case, investigating RSPCA Inspector Cathy Maddison said: “The injuries inflicted on such a small dog are awful and inexcusable. It was a very distressing case to investigate”.
Sentencing: 18 weeks in jail; £650 costs. Lifetime ban on owning animals but can appeal after 10 years.
Another Mentally Disturbed Scum.
He won’t have no luck for what he has done.
Scum such as this shouldn’t have Animals.
How the hell can you Beat A Little Animal To Death.
Absolutely Heart Breaking.