Conviction for cruelty offences against a dog

Conviction for cruelty offences against a dog

 A man has narrowly escaped going to prison after being found guilty of animal cruelty offences.

The council’s animal welfare inspector visited a property in Ledgers Road, Slough, on 31 January 2025, after reports that a man had been seen beating a puppy around its head repeatedly.

Jack Smith, now aged 28, was identified as the person responsible. He refused entry to the property and denied owning a dog.  

On 6 February 2025, the council officer attended the property again, to lawfully remove Mr Smith from the property.

After a forced entry into the flat, Mr Smith left, and the council officer and managing agent undertook a property condition survey. They found it in poor condition, with large quantities of rubbish and waste items throughout.

They found a puppy, wrapped up in a urine-soaked blanket, hidden in a bedroom.

The puppy had severe injuries to its head, muzzle and face, and was immediately taken to a vet. It was discovered the puppy had received several blunt force trauma injuries to his face, head and side, fracturing a rib. There were also signs the puppy’s mouth had been tied shut at some point and it had injuries to its ears from where it had tried to get the ligatures off its face that tied its mouth shut.

After denying the puppy was his, a microchip check showed Mr Smith was the registered owner.

Proceedings for animal cruelty offences began, and after not attending his initial hearings, a warrant was issued for Mr Smith’s arrest.

He pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering and a failure of duty of care for an animal in his care, at Reading Magistrates’ Court on 18 September.

In sentencing, the judge stated how serious this case was and that a prison sentence would have been appropriate. However, due to current sentencing restrictions, implemented the following sentencing:

•    Animal Welfare Act 2006 section 4 causing unnecessary suffering – 20 weeks prison sentence suspended for 18 months
•    Animal Welfare Act 2006 section 9 failure of duty of care – 6 weeks prison sentence suspended for 18 months, to run consecutively.

He was sentenced to 200 hours unpaid work, fined £450, and was disqualified from owning an animal for 10 years.

Councillor Zafar Satti, lead member for public protection and regulatory services, said: “This is a sad case where an animal has suffered due to mistreatment from its owner and a lack of care. A prison sentence was narrowly avoided.

“We hope it acts as a serious reminder to people that owning a pet comes with responsibilities and a duty of care. If you cannot manage to look after your animals, look for support, and do not simply neglect them.”

At the time of the offence, the puppy was taken into the council’s possession and fostered immediately, so spent no time in kennels.

He has since been rehomed and has fully recovered.