CONVICTED (2023) | serial headcase Dean MacLennan, born c. 1993, of Linksfield Court, Seaton, Aberdeen AB24 1GU – kicked a dog in the face in an “unprovoked” attack.
Dean MacLennan during a previous court appearance. Photo credit: Press & Journal
Violent thug Dean MacLennan, who is no stranger to the Scottish courts, kicked a Staffy in the head so hard she was sent flying backwards.
The attack took place on Union Street, Aberdeen in the early hours of May 22, 2022.
MacLennan claimed the dog had bitten him on the face, but CCTV and his lack of injuries did not support this version of events.
Shockingly, despite the vicious and unprovoked nature of the attack, he escaped a ban on keeping dogs as the imbecilic judge decided such a move would not be “appropriate”.
Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin set out events for the court. She said: “A woman and her friends were on Union Street along with her dog, named Bella.
“The accused, an acquaintance, was also with them. They were all engaging in conversation.
“Without provocation, the accused kicked Bella with his right foot to her face, causing her to be thrown backwards.”
A verbal altercation between the parties then followed which caught the attention of police.
MacLennan told the officers the dog had bitten him on the face, but there was no evidence of this.
Ms Martin said: “CCTV showed the accused, unprovoked, kick the dog as described.
“The dog was at no point acting in a dangerous or aggressive manner.”
The court heard the woman who owned the dog passed away shortly after the incident.
MacLennan pleaded guilty to kicking Bella in the head.
Defence agent David Sutherland said his client maintained he’d been bitten by the dog and that the CCTV footage was filmed from “some distance away”.
‘There’s not any extended period of conduct in relation to dogs’
He said: “It was a Staffy, which is a dog which is commonly possessed or owned by those who move in drug circles.”
Not fit for purpose: Sheriff Margaret Hodge didn’t believe it was appropriate to ban an animal abuser with a long history of violence and a dog of his own from having animals
Sheriff Margaret Hodge interjected: “And who are on Union Street at midnight.”
Mr Sutherland agreed and went on to highlight his client’s struggles with his mental health and that he was a dog owner himself.
Sheriff Hodge told MacLennan: “Having heard the circumstances and heard from your solicitor, I’m inclined to deal with this by way of a fine.”
She imposed a £290 fine but with no time to pay, meaning MacLennan serves the alternative of 14 days in prison.
Turning to the possibility of a ban on keeping dogs or other pets, Sheriff Hodge said: “They don’t seem particularly appropriate here.
“There’s not any extended period of conduct in relation to dogs that would make me consider disqualification.”
CONVICTED (2023) | Aberdeenshire hare coursers Richard Hanratty, born 12 December 1993, of 23 Cardens Knowe, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen AB22 8PE, and Steven McDonald, born c. 1984, of Duff Drive, Oldmeldrum Inverurie AB51 0GW – used their dogs to chase and kill terrified wild hares.
Ricky Hanratty (left) and Steven McDonald used dogs to hunt terrified wild hares. Image source: Press & Journal
The court heard that on 21 August 2019 Oldmeldrum man Steven McDonald had allowed dogs to kill a brown hare in Mosstown Field in Udny, Aberdeenshire. A witness saw two dogs chase down and kill a hare.
The hare’s body was recovered from the field by police and the gamekeeper shortly after McDonald was arrested leaving the area.
In later incidents McDonald, in a distinctive blue jacket, was filmed hare coursing at Ardconnon Farm, Oldmeldrum on 11 February 2020. Hanratty, from Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, was also captured hare coursing at Milton-croft, Dumbreck on 16 February 2021.
Ricky Hanratty
The pair admitted being involved in the illegal blood sport on various occasions between 2019 and 2021.
They were both banned from keeping dogs and ordered to hand over all their animal collars.
Sentencing | McDonald: four-month restriction of liberty order; 200 hours of unpaid work. Eight year animal ban (expires April 2031). Hanratty: 100 hours of unpaid work. Banned from keeping dogs for three years (expires April 2026).
CONVICTED (2023) | animal hoarders John Symon, born 16 October 1981, and wife Victoria Symon, born c. 1986, both of 5 Seaton Gardens, Seaton, Aberdeen AB24 1XD – kept 60 neglected dogs, cats, small furries, birds and reptiles crammed into their flat.
Scottish SPCA inspectors discovered dozens of animals living in appalling conditions at the Symons’ small property, with the smell of animal excrement being described as “overpowering”.
The pair were initially offered support instead of prosecution, but continued to add more animals to their menagerie.
The SSPCA’s first inspection uncovered distressed dogs living in tiny cages among several cats, with various other species kept in enclosures – all coexisting in the couple’s lounge.
The hallway of the flat was covered in plastic sheeting caked in diarrhoea and urine.
The SSPCA inspector said it was obvious there were serious animal welfare issues but the Symons seemed oblivious to her concerns.
Five-year-old Yorkie Bono Bono had an ear and eye infection, dental disease, oily skin and a penis infection
Prosecutor Lydia Ross told the court: “There were so many animals in this small property. The dogs were barking and rocking the cages intensely, which in turn was distressing the other animals.”
The couple signed over ownership of 13 animals – including bearded dragons, cats, dogs and snakes – to the SSPCA for rehoming.
Two days later the SSPCA took a further 39 pets into their care after the couple were persuaded they had too many animals to look after properly. The rescued pets included cats, kittens, dogs, rabbits, chinchillas, gerbils, small birds and a parrot. The couple had attempted to hide a litter of kittens in the bathroom but these too were signed over.
It was agreed at this stage that the couple could keep two dogs and two cats.
During a return visit on September 30, 2020, inspectors discovered the Symons had acquired another seven animals – kittens, rabbits, budgies and a degu.
The couple agreed to relinquish the new pets.
A vet confirmed that several of the animals had been caused unnecessary suffering while in the Symons’ care, with their poor living conditions being a major factor.
Concerned that the couple would go on to acquire more animals, the inspector reported them to Aberdeen City Council’s housing department.
Local authority officials advised the SSPCA that the couple had “learning difficulties” and were “vulnerable”.
A dog in the Symons’ care was severely malnourished
The SSPCA initially decided to work with the couple to help them look after animals rather than prosecute them.
The Crown Office agreed with the approach, suggesting social workers be appointed to assist.
SSPCA inspectors returned to the Symons’ home five months later and made some grim discoveries.
The court was told: “On entering the stairwell of the tenement, there was a strong smell of cat urine”.
They found an empty chinchilla cage but the couple said they no longer had it.
Nearby was a small cage housing seven adult and mixed-sex guinea pigs. The cage was designed to house just two guinea pigs. No food, water or appropriate bedding had been provided for the animals.
All of the guinea pigs had sores on their feet, caused by living in a dirty and over-populated space.
The couple also had a new dog – a Staffordshire bull terrier-type named Jinks.
Further searches of the flat revealed even more animals, including a hamster that was found in good condition but in a dirty cage.
Cats were hidden in two bedroom cupboards.
Some of the animals appeared scared.
The inspector told the couple of her “disappointment at finding such an amount of animals again” after supporting the pair.
“At this point, Victoria and John Symon refused to sign over ownership of any animals into the care of the Scottish SPCA.”
The animals were therefore seized and the Symons were formally cautioned.
The local authority housing department withdrew permission for the couple to keep any pets in the flat.
Veterinary examination of the latest rescued pets uncovered a catalogue of neglect, with many of them being underfed and left to suffer a variety of ailments.
All the cats had highly transmissible ear mites, with the owners’ original two suffering the most severe infestation.
Both had small lacerations just inside their ears, which would have been caused by them scratching.
The Symons would have been aware that their cats had itchy ears and failed to seek veterinary treatment, the vet claimed.
The cats that were taken in had also not been fed enough to maintain an ideal body weight.
They had soiled fur, due to them having diarrhoea.
A one-year-old chihuahua cross named Marshall was thinner than ideal.
A five-year-old male Yorkie called Bono had an ear and eye infection, dental disease, oily skin and a penis infection.
“Bono’s skin and penis infection were visible to his owners and they all needed medical treatment,” the fiscal added.
“His owners caused him unnecessary suffering by not seeking medical treatment.”
Three of the dogs removed from the Symons in September 2020, were emaciated and had multiple health conditions.
All the dogs had dirty, sparse coats – stained with urine – and some were matted with dried faeces.
Two of the dogs had wounds on their bodies that were consistent with bite wounds from another dog.
John Symon with neglected Yorkie Bono
John Symon admitted three charges of causing an animal unnecessary suffering and two charges of failing to meet the needs of an animal.
Victoria Symon admitted one charge of causing an animal unnecessary suffering.
Mr Symon’s defence agent Stuart Murray said a psychiatric report into his client had been “hard-hitting”.
“It puts Mr Symon in the very lowest percentile of cognitive function. That, perhaps, impacts his behaviour in relation to the matter in court today.
“He presents as a man who is very amiable, likeable and always smiling as a happy-go-lucky character.
“In his mind, he loved the animals. He took too many of the animals in because, as he put it, people wanted him to look after animals for them.
“It’s very clear it was all with good intent but there was an inability to deal with the difficulties in keeping so many animals.”
He added: “There was no malicious intent. What we have here is a man who was doing his best, took on too much and had no insight into his inability to care for those animals.
“What is required for Mr Symon is education in life skills and how they are applied in the real world.”
‘Defence agent Shane Campbell, representing Victoria Symon, echoed the sentiments of Mr Murray.
“She also required assistance and support,” he added.
Sheriff Margaret Hodge told John Symon: “It appears to me that a large number of animals were caused suffering by you neglecting them.
“From the reports, it seems you haven’t really accepted responsibility for what you did. I do understand you have problems and you may not fully have understood the extent of the suffering you inflicted on those animals – but you did inflict it.
“You ignored poor conditions, illness and signs of infection. You kept them in a condition that was bound to end in death if not illness.”
She told his wife: “You ignored the significant infections and suffering of your own dog. I do accept you too have a lack of insight, which is not necessarily your fault”.
She said both of them were “unable to ever understand fully” their offending.
Speaking about the case SSPCA inspector Fiona McKenzie, said: “I tried on several occasions to work with John and Victoria Symons in relation to their animals. Initially a number of animals were removed reducing them to an acceptable number of two dogs and two cats. Both the Symons disregarded advice given and continued to accumulate multiple animals.
“During these investigations a total of 76 animals were removed from the two-bedroom flat. These animals included dogs, cats, kittens, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, gerbils, a parrot and various small birds.
“On searches of the property cats were found hidden within pet carriers in cupboards and kittens found under dirty laundry.
“The smell within the property was horrendous due to the amount of animal’s excrement. It was so bad it could be smelt in the communal landing. These animals were extremely stressed and in ill health due to such poor living conditions.
“I was extremely disappointed with the owners in this case of neglect as we made every effort to try and help the couple initially. The continuing neglect and suffering being caused to animals resulted in a case reported to the procurator fiscal.
“The Symons could have easily prevented their animals from suffering by providing adequate nutrition and seeking veterinary treatment for their medical conditions.
“I feel the lifetime ban on owning or keeping any animals handed to both John and Victoria Symons on 22nd February 2023 is a justified outcome for the suffering these animals had to endure.”
Sentencing | one-year supervision order. Lifetime ban from keeping animals.
CONVICTED (2022) | hare coursers Alexander Stewart, born c. 1987, of Miltonfold, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9DR, and Jackie Stewart, aka John Stewart, born c. 1980, currently of Methil, Fife, but with a base at the notorious Clinterty travellers site in Aberdeen.
Alexander Stewart (left) and Jackie/John Stewart pictured outside court. Image credit: Courier
The Stewarts, who are Scottish travellers, pleaded guilty to wildlife offences after being caught hare coursing.
In the early morning of Sunday November 8, 2020, a local farmer spotted a Subaru belonging to Alexander Stewart in the Redwell Farm and the Balindarg area of Angus, near Forfar.
They called police because the same car had been used in earlier hare coursing incidents.
One witness saw one of the men with a lurcher-type dog and was left in no doubt they were hare coursing.
Police arrived and both Stewart and three boys were detained.
The men’s mobile phones were sent for analysis. where it was discovered Alexander Stewart’s phone held several voice note messages – including how he had bought a dog to kill hares.
Another revealed how he bought his Subaru vehicle to go poaching while a further clip showed that he had been poaching in Aberdeen. A chilling photo of a young boy holding a dead hare beside a lurcher was also found on the device.
Jackie Stewart’s phone revealed a text message from November 3 that two days earlier “a first chase killed it over down a road”.
The footage is blacked out as the phone is put into a pocket, but the sound keeps running. Alexander and Jackie Stewart can be heard discussing the decline of hares in the area due to the population dying out from them being killed.
It also held a video of him with Alexander Stewart and the boys on November 8, 2020, discussing discussing the decline of hares in the area due to them being killed.
Both men admitted hunting with several dogs at various locations in Angus and Aberdeenshire.
Sentencing | Alexander Stewart was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. Jackie Stewart was fined £1,000. Both received a six-month ban on keeping dogs.
CONVICTED (2022) | Greg Falconer, born 22 December 1992, of 40 Marchburn Crescent, Aberdeen AB16 7NL – punched and kicked his “scared and shivering” pet while being arrested by police.
Greg Falconer
Falconer admitted a catalogue of offences, which included abusing his large-breed dog, named Cheeko, as well as threatening his relatives with a knife and verbally abusing police officers.
The court heard the first incident occurred at Bucksburn Police Station on December 4 2020 when Falconer hurled abuse at officers and threatened to set his dog on them.
Cheeko
The next day Falconer again was seen “dragging” Cheeko around outside the entrance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
“He was aggressively dragging his dog around,” the prosecutor said.
She added: “He continued shouting and swearing all the way to Kittybrewster police station.
“While standing round the back of the van, he was punching and kicking his dog.
“The dog appeared scared and shivering.”
He also called one officer a “p***” multiple times.
On June 23, 2021, Falconer drunkenly destroyed various items of furniture in front of his now-pregnant girlfriend, including a glass table that “shattered” after being struck with an ashtray.
Then in May 2022, he brandished a knife at his own mum and step-grandfather, forcing his way into the doorway and demanding money.
Falconer admitted one charge of causing an animal unnecessary suffering or harm and five charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
His defence agent told the court that alcohol and drug abuse was the root cause of his client’s offending but that he’d since become a “new man”.
Sentencing | one-year supervision order; five-month restriction of liberty order. No mention of a ban.
CONVICTED (2021) | Thomas ‘Tomo’ Robertson, born 20 May 1994, of 38 Provost Watt Drive, Aberdeen AB12 5NA – repeatedly beat his female bulldog over the head and body with an axe handle, his fists and a dog lead, leaving her with bruising, flesh wounds and bald patches.
Violent thug Tomo Robertson took his “anger issues” out on a defenceless dog.
Unemployed Robertson was caught after Scottish SPCA officers paid a visit to his home in Aberdeen.
Inside they found a 15-month-old bulldog named Nala, who was so traumatised she would become “frozen with fear” if a man entered the room.
Nala endured multiple violent attacks by sadistic Robertson.
Fiscal despite Jen Pritchard told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that SSPCA inspectors had been tipped off from a concerned neighbour in the early hours of October 16, 2020.
“On arrival, they were met by the accused,” she said. “They advised him that someone had overheard a dog being possibly mistreated in the early hours.
“He showed the officers the dog, whose name was Nala. The female bull-type dog was in the kitchen behind and being kept behind a stair gate.”
Despite inflicting horrific violence on bulldog Nala, Robertson only received a four-year ban on owning dogs.
The inspectors suspected Nala had been beaten given there was bruising to her head and marks on her neck.
Robertson’s girlfriend told them she had been asleep but “did hear Nala yelping when she woke up”, the court heard.
As the inspectors were leaving an officer noticed a wooden handle in Anderson’s home and asked him if it had been used on Nala.
“He said it was a shaft of an axe but denied using it on the dog,” the fiscal added.
A vet later examined Nala and immediately spotted wounds that were “consistent with that of a beating” as well as evidence that a blunt object has been used.
It was during that examination that it became clear Nala had been traumatised and was now nervous around men.
“A male veterinary surgeon entered the all-female room and Nala was visibly scared and frozen in fear until he left the room,” the fiscal added. “She was nervous but relaxed during the examination. Her demeanour only changed when a male colleague entered the room.”
Nala was found to have bruising to her right ear that was “painful upon touching” and that the vet deemed had occurred in the previous 48 hours.
There was also bruising on her chin, full-thickness skin injuries on her ear, rib cage, both shoulders, her neck and her hip. Further healing injuries were spotted on Nala’s left hind leg.
She had hairless areas on her shoulder and neck and the skin injuries were deemed “consistent with being hit repeatedly with an object”. ‘She would have been severely distressed’
“The surgeon stated that for her to have been beaten in this manner would have caused the dog fear and alarm,” the fiscal added. “She would have been severely distressed.”
Nala was taken to the SSPCA’s local rescue and rehoming centre at Drumoak, where she remains and is doing “much better”.
Defence agent Ian MacGregor said Robertson’s own admissions to social workers had actually provided a more “graphic” account of Nala’s abuse than that heard by the court.
“His conduct was absolutely appalling,” he said. “He has had issues in his life with respect to dealing with anger and he has taken steps previously off his own back to be seen by a psychiatrist in that regard.”
Robertson admitted causing the dog unnecessary suffering.
Sheriff Margaret Hodge told him: “What I am told in the social work report does cause me concern about your propensity to violence, which was demonstrated by what you did to this dog.”
Sentencing: community payback order with one year of supervision and 100-day curfew. Banned from keeping or owning a dog for four years (expires December 2025).
CONVICTED (2021) | Colin West, born 5 October 1969, of Farquhar Road, Aberdeen AB11 – left his pet cat unattended for four days
Colin West from Aberdeen left his cat alone in an empty flat with no food or water for four days.
Colin West admitted leaving the cat, Rosie, alone in his flat for four days and making no attempt to provide food or water for her.
Scottish SPCA inspectors visited West’s flat after receiving a tip-off from a concerned member of the public. Inspectors visited the address on a number of occasions, feeding the starving cat through the letter box, and eventually gaining entry with assistance from the local authority.
Rosie had been so desperate for food that she had chewed open packets of dry rice and pasta in an attempt to find something to eat.
Scottish SPCA inspector Alexandra Campbell said: “I was shocked when I gained entry to the property as the condition of the flat was horrendous, with signs that Rosie had been consistently left unattended including a dirty litter tray, an empty food bowl and numerous chewed packets of food.
“No food had been left and the only water source available was dirty water from the toilet bowl.
“Rosie must have been so hungry that she had sought out food sources such as dry rice and pasta.
“However, I am delighted that the court has issued a ban in this instance which ensures another animal will not be subjected to this.
Callous West is only banned from keeping animals for five years
“No animal should be left unattended for a period of time without proper provisions being made for its welfare. Such provisions include food, water, warmth and that the animal is checked on at least every 24 hours.
Sentencing: £80 fine. Five-year ban on keeping animals (expires March 2026).
CONVICTED (2021) | serial rapist Paul Hill, born c. 1965, of Kings Park Drive, Ayr – killed family pets to exert control over women
Sadistic monster Paul Hill drowned a former partner’s pet parakeet, killed another’s tiny kitten, threw a third girlfriend’s cat out of a window, and threatened to harm his own Alsatian bitch when a fourth woman told him she was leaving him.
The former bouncer was convicted of raping four women and physically assaulting eight women.
His offending took place between 1987 and 2009 throughout the Tayside, Grampian and Fife areas.
At the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Mulholland told Hill: “You used coercive and controlling behaviour. You abused and belittled them. You harmed their pets as a way of punishing them.
“Your behaviour was cruel and despicable.”
Hill was ordered to be monitored in the community for three years after his release from jail.
Defence counsel John McElroy representing Hill said: “He continues to maintain his innocence.”
Hill denied committing a string of sexual and violent offences against former partners in Aberdeen and Dundee over a 22-year period and claimed any sex was consensual.
He claimed he acted in self-defence when he strangled a 59-year-old grandmother at a Christmas party until her face turned purple after drunkenly shouting, “I’m a killing machine.”
His victims said that Hill was an evil “psycho” who verbally abused, beat, strangled and raped them. One said he attacked her after she put a CD in his alphabetically arranged collection in the wrong place.
One terrified mum-of-two sobbed as she told how she took her children to her mum’s after she caught Hill having sex with another woman in their bed.
Later he phoned threatening to kill the family’s 18-year-old pet parakeets if she didn’t return.
She said: “I went home later on that night because I knew he wasn’t in the house.
“The kids went into the house and they saw there was only one bird in the cage. They found the other parrot drowned in the kitchen sink.
“He drowned it, because the sink was filled up with water.”
Another ex-girlfriend told how Hill wrecked the Tayside apartment he shared with her after she left him because of his violent behaviour.
She said. “I had a kitten. It was only a little wee kitten. He killed my kitten.”
Hill was also convicted of throwing another woman’s cat out of the window of a flat in Kincorth, Aberdeen.
The woman said that several times when she’d said ‘no’ to sex Hill started to strangle her. She said: “His whole face – his eyes – would change, he was like a completely different person. His eyes would go really dark. He just looked really evil.”
Hill, who appeared in court via a video link, was placed on the sex offenders’ register.
CONVICTED (2021) | Liam Gove, born c. 1996, of Cummings Park Crescent, Aberdeen AB16 – beat a dog during a domestic violence incident
Convicted animal abuser and woman beater Liam Gove from Aberdeen
Serial domestic abuser Liam Gove hit the unnamed Staffordshire bull terrier repeatedly before launching a “vicious and unprovoked” attack on his partner. The dog then leapt into action to protect the woman, biting Gove so hard he spent two days in hospital.
Fiscal depute Christy Ward told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the couple had been together for four-and-a-half years.
She said: “On March 28, during the evening and into the early hours of March 29, the complainer and the accused drank alcohol together.
“At approximately 2.20am, the complainer and the accused decided to go to bed.
“The complainer went to their bedroom and she heard the accused in the bathroom calling a taxi and arranging to go elsewhere.
“She went through to the bathroom and challenged the accused about where he was going.
“He refused to tell her where he intended to go, which resulted in an argument.
“The complainer attempted to leave the bathroom which infuriated the accused and he tried to prevent her from doing so by placing his foot against the door, trapping her between the door and the doorframe.
“Their dog then came into the bathroom which further infuriated the accused.
“He tried to get the dog out but it would not go, so he began repeatedly striking the dog on the body causing it to yelp each time.”
Gove’s partner then managed to leave and went through to the bedroom.
Ms Ward said: “The accused followed her into the bedroom, seized her by the shoulder, turned her around and punched her twice in the face with such force that he knocked her two front teeth out and caused her nose to bleed.
“The dog began to bite the accused, bringing an end to the incident.”
Gove, who works as a binman with Aberdeen City Council, pleaded guilty to a domestically aggravated charge of assault to severe injury, and to causing a dog unnecessary suffering by repeatedly striking the animal on the body.
Defence agent Gail Goodfellow told the court that her client and his partner still live together and are now expecting a child. She said that her client had “a history of depression” adding that the offences were “out of character”.
Mrs Goodfellow said since the incident there had been “concerns regarding the dog’s behaviour” and the couple were seeking to rehome her.
Sheriff William Summers told Gove: “Your behaviour on March 29 was despicable and this offending is simply deplorable.
“You started by beating a defenceless animal and went on to carry out a vicious and unprovoked attack on your partner.
“It’s quite clear, even at the relatively young age of 24, you have become a serial domestic abuser.
“This represents a troubling escalation in the abuse.
“Given the gravity of this offence, it is difficult to see why a custodial sentence should not be imposed, but there are some mitigating factors.”
The sheriff mentioned Gove never having been in custody before, and his partner relying on him.
He added: “Most importantly, and for reasons I can barely fathom, your partner still wants to continue a relationship with you.
“She clearly needs your support.”
Sentencing: 300 hours of unpaid work; two years’ supervision; ordered to complete a domestic abuse programme. Banned from owning or keeping dogs for five years (expires January 2026).
CONVICTED (2019) | Peter James Brady, born 31 December 1983, of Stoneyton Terrace, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9HA – subjected his pet dog to a prolonged brutal beating in the street.
Brady admitted seizing his dog by the legs, repeatedly throwing him to the ground and repeatedly punching him on the body.
Fiscal Depute Calum Thompson said the attack had been prolonged.
He told the court: “The dog was thrown against the ground at least eight times and it was punched at least six times.
“Eyewitnesses thought the accused was under the influence.”
The unnamed dog endured a frenzied attack by Peter Brady but escaped serious injury
Brady’s solicitor Ian Woodward-Nutt said his client – a full-time driver – was “utterly horrified” by his behaviour.
He said: “Mr Brady struggles with his mental health and with substance abuse, which led to this.
“He has grown up with dogs and is utterly horrified he should ever behave this way toward an animal.”
Mr Woodward-Nutt added that his client was “very upset and contrite” about the entire incident and had taken action to rectify his behaviour.
He said: “In what is perhaps a measure of his feelings, he re-homed the dog through a local animal charity immediately after the incident.
“It was entirely out of character. He has loved and cared for animals all his life.”
Mr Woodward-Nutt added that his client had “no recollection of what happened” and said there had been “no significant injury to the animal”.
Sheriff Grant Hutchison spared Brady jail and instead imposed a community sentence.
But he said: “I get the impression this was a rather frenzied attack and I will impose supervision as an extra safeguard. This is an alternative to custody.
“This is a chance for your mental health to stabilise and hopefully improve your situation.”
Sentencing | placed under social work supervision for a year and ordered to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work. Banned from owning an animal for just two years (expired July 2021).
