A West Cumbrian man has been jailed for subjecting his puppy to grotesque almost-daily attacks before incinerating her corpse in a metal garden bin.
Nathan Thompson, 29, mistreated the young Collie, Daisy, so badly that she died before seeking to cover his tracks by setting a fierce fire, inside a metal bin, that was seen by shocked neighbours.
Carlisle Crown Court heard Thompson had brought home the dog shortly after moving into a terraced Cleator Moor property last year.
But throughout the late summer, neighbours heard sounds of the puppy being abused. “Thuds and crashes followed by the distressing noises of the animal crying in pain. This went on for night after night,” said prosecutor Andrew Evans.
Neighbours had described their deep distress at hearing banging, shouting and hearing the dog cry in pain “all the time”. One woman would sit on her back doorstep crying because the dog was being beaten.
Thompson was seen to grab the puppy around its neck before dragging and pushing the head down into the grass, and also to hose it down while it was tied up. The noises of beating became more frequent and “most days” there would be a “bang and a yelp”.
“It is the Crown’s case that the defendant, in rage and anger, repeatedly beat Daisy over the final few months of her life, and that the beatings she received, either with punches, kicks or the use of the metal cage door, caused the puppy distress and injury,” said Mr Evans.
Daisy had died at an unknown time on September 5, the court heard.
“Later that day the defendant placed her corpse into a large metal bin in his back garden,” added the prosecutor.
“Using an unknown accelerant he set a fierce fire which destroyed the body to such an extent that the veterinary post-mortem was unable to determine the exact cause of her death when, two days later, neighbours found the remains of the body and alerted the police.”
Thompson, of Melbreak Avenue, Cleator Moor, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
His denial that he caused the dog’s death — he claimed it escaped and was run over — was dismissed by a judge who heard evidence, including harrowing accounts from neighbours who had sought to intervene.
During today’s sentencing hearing, defence barrister Anthony Parkinson said Thompson stood by the account he had earlier given.
Recorder Julian Shaw imposed an immediate 27-month jail term, describing Thompson’s criminal conduct as “cruelty” and “sadistic” having used “significant force. “What greater harm could there be to that animal than you killed it?” he wondered.
And of the brutal treatment meted out by Thompson, Recorder Shaw said to him: “You must have known, day after day after day what you were doing was grotesque.”
Thompson was banned from owning or keeping any animal for life.
