Staffordshire Bull Terrier pup Diesel suffered the horrific injuries shown in the image above when he was repeatedly bitten by his owner.
Police seized Diesel from Tyler Laverick on 19th October 2017 after members of the public reported seeing a male assaulting a dog in a car parked on Front Street, North Shields.
Investigations revealed that vehicle was registered to Laverick and police visited his Front Street home, where they found Diesel with serious injuries to his face, eyes and ears. Laverick was arrested and charged with causing undue suffering to an animal, contrary to section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
He pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing and was granted unconditional bail until his trial on 13th April. Laverick failed to attend court, so the trial went ahead in his absence.
Judith Curry, prosecuting for the RSPCA, told Magistrates: "When the constables arrived at the address, a male answered the door. The male was Tyler Laverick. He was asked if he had a dog on the premises. He replied he had a staffie that was not OK.
"The constables entered and found a Staffordshire Bull Terrier with visible facial injuries. Tyler Laverick stated to the officer that he had bitten the dog. He was cautioned and arrested for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal."
The court heard that Laverick then told officers he had been smoking weed and, when asked about the condition of Diesel, he replied: "Not good, I was biting him, I was stoned".
Diesel was taken to the vets where a catalogue of injuries were noted, which included:
- Puncture wounds to his tongue
- Significant trauma to the nose, which was bleeding and had the whole surface of skin removed
- Multiple scars to his muzzle
- Multiple wounds to his muzzle
- Swelling to the left side of the jaw
- Bleeding in the whites of his eyes
- Scratches and puncture wounds on his ears, which were bleeding
- A small wound to the left foreleg
- Multiple scars to the left foreleg
The vet who examined the dog concluded that the wounds to his head were consistent with blunt-force trauma, while the injuries to his ears and nose were consistent with coming from bites.
Ms Curry added: “The vet believes that Diesel was suffering on the night of October 19 2017 due to injuries allegedly caused by his owner.
Magistrates found the case against Laverick proven and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
He was arrested and brought before Newcastle Magistrates' Court, where he was re-bailed to attend North Tyneside Magistrates' Court for sentencing on 27th April.
The horrific injuries suffered by Diesel, combined with Laverick's failure to surrender to bail are so serious that a custodial sentence is inevitable in this case.
No comments:
Post a Comment