Man banned for stabbing dog

A CRUEL thug has been banned from keeping dogs for 10 years after admitting stabbing his puppy with a broken mop handle.

Keith Fowler from West Yorkshire was charged with cruelly ill-treating the dog, called Tonic, on 5 March. The male cross-breed dog suffered a deep wound about 2cm wide, Leeds Magistrates' Court heard last Wednesday.

Tonic was handed over to the RSPCA, but in a sting in the tail, the poor animal was destroyed by a vet after being identified as an illegal pit-bull ‘type’, even though he was a crossbreed.
Under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act it is illegal to re-home a pit-bull ‘type’ or keep an unregistered one. Registration is now only possible on a court order and the decision lies with the magistrate.

‘It's a shame but as a charity we must operate within the law,’ said RSPCA Deputy Chief Inspector Lynsey Harris.

Fowler was sentenced to a 12-month community order, 100 hours unpaid work, and ordered to pay £250 costs.