The Animal Is On The Other End Of The Leash…

A 22-year-old man repeatedly punched a terrified 12-week-old puppy in the head to ‘teach the dog a lesson’, a court heard today.

Luckily for the dog, a few passers-by didn’t just video it to stick up on YouTube, they took direct action:

Two eyewitnesses told the court they saw the defendant hit the dog near the Coalport Tavern in Oakengates on January 30 this year.

Witness Jack Watton said he was travelling in a car with three female friends when they saw Blagborough attack the dog.

Mr Watton said: “There was a bloke walking along the footpath and he had the small animal in his left hand. He held the dog by the scruff of the neck and he punched it with his right.

“It wasn’t tapped on the nose, he was laying into her with a closed fist.”

The court heard the four friends got out of the car and told Blagborough to stop hitting the dog, which he had bought six weeks earlier as a gift.

One of the females in the car offered to buy the dog for £10 but Blagborough said it belonged to his partner who he was visiting for the weekend, the court heard.

Another witness, Jade Varney, said the dog broke loose and the friends chased Blagborough. Miss Varney said Blagborough eventually caught the dog and tried to get into a taxi but the driver would not let him inside.

Magistrates were told Miss Varney then called the police.

And despite the feeble excuse, he was found guilty:

Blagborough, of Cardiff, had denied causing unnecessary suffering to the dog but was found guilty following a trial.

He was also convicted of another charge of failing to be responsible for the animal’s welfare.

He will be sentenced on December 20. Magistrates told Blagborough that custody was ‘very much an option’.

Hopefully, the only option…