CONVICTED (2017) | Bruce Jon Elliott, born 24/11/1984, formerly of Lordenshaw, Newcastle upon Tyne NE5 and more recently Gloucester Court, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 2XJ – killed his pregnant girlfriend’s dog after ‘losing his temper’
Bruce Elliott kicked the eight-year-old Jack Russell cross, known as Smudge, before leaving her to die.
The incident happened at Elliott’s home on 26 October 2016, when his then girlfriend was not there.
RSPCA inspector Helen Bestwick said: “He told the court that Smudge wasn’t allowed upstairs but had gone up there and urinated on the bed. He said he chased her downstairs and a mountain bike, which was at the bottom of them, fell on top of her, then he kicked her outside.
“We’ll never know exactly what happened but when Smudge was found by a neighbour around 300 metres away on a patch of grass between the local social club and supermarket she was collapsed.
“Recognising her as sometimes being walked by Elliot, he was alerted to her plight and took her back to his home. When the neighbour enquired as to how she was and discovered she hadn’t been taken to a vets we were called.
“We believe the incident happened at around 6.15pm but unfortunately it was 8.30pm by the time we got the call about Smudge, who Elliot had allowed to suffer all that time. When I got there Elliot was aggressive so police had to be called.
“Sadly, Smudge died in the back of my van on the way to the vets. It was awful. A post mortem revealed she had died of internal bleeding. She had a ruptured liver with multiple lacerations, a hemorrhage near her right kidney and bruising between her shoulder blades.”
Elliott pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal – one count for kicking the dog and another for preventing the dog from getting treatment – and was sentenced to 15 weeks’ prison for the animal cruelty offences.
He also admitted harassing his new girlfriend, Paris Dixon, and was given a four-week jail term for that offence.
Elliott met Ms Dixon after his previous girlfriend, Smudge’s owner Franchesca Jones, left him following his cowardly attack on her pet.
Prosecutor Paul Anderson said they met in December 2016 and at first the relationship seemed “too good to be true”.
He said: “Unfortunately she was right and the defendant became controlling and violent during the course of their relationship.”
The court heard Elliott manipulated Ms Dixon into thinking she was mentally ill, so much so that she even went to her doctor looking for help.
“He would call me a tramp and take the mickey out of my lisp,” she said in a statement read out in court. “I am scared to see him if I go out and I am scared to let my dog outside.”
After they broke up, Elliott harassed her with 300 messages in one day
In court father-of-two Elliott complained that he would lose his business and his house as the details emerged in court, but was sent to prison.
Mitigating for Elliott, Sara Clasper said: “He lost his temper, it was a momentary reaction. He is very remorseful.”
Sentencing: jailed for 15 weeks for animal cruelty with a further four weeks for harassment. Disqualified from keeping animals for 20 years with right of appeal after ten years.
Additional information
In July 2019 Bruce Elliott started a company called BE Engineering Consultants Ltd. The company is registered in Scotland and the Companies House entry gives Elliott’s nationality as Scottish.