CONVICTED (2014) | Veronica Reid, born c. 1972, and Jon Paul Allen (aka Jon Paul Davis), born c. 1987, of Woolpack Meadows, Trowbridge BA14 7SU and Paul Brown, born 12/03/1962, of Okehampton Road, Exeter – tied a noose around collie’s neck and hung him with a rope from the attic, punched and kicked him to ensure she was dead.

Veronica Reid and Jon Allen pleaded guilty to charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a collie by hanging him until he died. A third defendant, Paul Brown, pleaded guilty at the court separately.

The court heard how Allen and Brown went to a vets practice in Trowbridge on January 17, 2014, to inquire about having the dog, a collie named Shandy, put down claiming he had become aggressive.

When the vet told them it would cost ‘more than £100’ , the pair took matters into their own hands and decided to kill the dog themselves.

It took up to 10 minutes for the dog to die by hanging, Brown punched and kicked him to make sure he was dead. The trio then buried him in the garden.

Their crime came to a light during a conversation between Reid and a neighbour. The neighbour told the RSPCA: “[Reid] was sat waiting for a bus one day and we started having a chat.

“I asked her what had happened to the dog, as it used to bark constantly. She then told me it was gone. I asked her what she meant, thinking she had taken it to a dog’s home or something, and then she made a hanging gesture. She also told me that the squealing noise it made sounded like when you boil a lobster.”

Sentence: Brown – 18-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months, Reid – 18-week suspended jail sentence, 6-month curfew, Allen – 23-week suspended sentence and 300 hours’ unpaid work. All three abusers – 10 year ban on keeping animals (expires September 2024).

Wiltshire Times