South Shields man caught beating his dog with mallet is jailed and given lifetime animal ban

Jamie Graham, of Westcott Road, in South Shields, was found guilty of two animal welfare offences when he appeared before Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on December 1.

Graham was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison and given a lifetime ban on keeping all animals as a result of the incident – he was also ordered to pay £250 costs and a victim surcharge of £128.

The court heard how the 25-year-old was spotted beating his female golden labrador-cross, called Blue, with a mallet in the backyard of his home

Graham tried to claim that he was punishing Blue for biting someone else however magistrates’ were told this was not supported by any complaint and seemed contrary to the dog’s good disposition.

A shocked resident witnessed the attack on October 8 last year and videoed the incident before later reporting the matter to the RSPCA, who released footage of the incident after the case.

Following the report, Inspector Teri-Ann Fannon was sent to investigate and was told that a concerned family member had been aware of the incident and had removed Blue from the address.

Teri visited Blue at the new address and commented that the dog appeared to be friendly and in good health however given the circumstances, it was agreed that Blue would be taken to the vets for an examination.

The vet examined Blue, who was given ain relief by injection and was offered food and water and hospitalised overnight.

She was then released into the care of the RSPCA with a further six days of pain relief and is now enjoying life in a new home.

Inspector Fannon said: “In the video the dog is seen to be trying to avoid the male, hiding behind a large white fridge and cowering in the corner of the garden.

“The male is shown to seek out the dog and on two occasions strikes the dog on the face with what looks like a mallet or a hammer. On each impact the dog can be heard to yelp out in pain.

“In the video you can hear the male counting up and down between one and three before striking the dog again.

"After the second strike the camera goes out of view and the dog can be heard to continue to yelp before the male is confronted by the member of the public.”

The vet added: “It is apparent that force blows were videoed, but I have to assume that the witness had seen other blows prior to this as they would not have been videoing otherwise.

“In my opinion, this dog must have suffered pain from these blows, and it is very likely that she was still in pain when examined on the following day. It is for this reason that she was given pain relief.

“As there can be no reason why this dog should have been hit, it is my opinion that this suffering was unnecessary.”

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