A vicious dog owner has been caught on camera brutally punching his pet in the head, before yanking the helpless animal around his garden.
The disturbing video shows the man striking his pet a full six times with his right fist, before pulling the dog hard by its collar and striking him on for a seventh time on his head.
After the footage went viral, animal welfare officers and police visited the owner’s address and found a second dog suffering from scabs, patches of fur missing and an ear infection.
Matthew Luke Russell, 21, has now been disqualified from keeping animals for 10 years after the brutal footage emerged on social media.
He appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where he admitted causing unnecessary suffering by inflicting blunt force trauma and physical violence.
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Vicious dog owner Matthew Luke Russell, 21, was caught on camera brutally punching his pet, Brad, in the head, before yanking the helpless animal around his garden
Russell was also found guilty of a second charge of causing unnecessary suffering to another dog, Mercy, who was rescued from the home covered in scabs and with fur missing
Mercy was also found by vets to have reddening between her toes and a chronic ear infection
The first charge related to his pitbull type dog called Brad.
He was also found guilty of a second charge of causing unnecessary suffering to another dog, Mercy, also a pitbull type dog, by failing to provide veterinary care and attention for her chronic ear disease.
The court heard that both the RSPCA and Gwent Police turned up at the home in Underhill Crescent, in Abergavenny to execute a warrant last August, but found Russell had not been at the address for a few days after the video went viral, Wales Online reports.
His mother, who was at the home, told officers that three men had come to the house and rehomed three of his four dogs.
Mercy was found in a shed without food, water or a resting area and was suffering with scabs, patches of fur missing across her body, reddening between all her toes and a bad ear infection that, according to a vet, had been ongoing for some time.
The dog had not been microchipped.
RSPCA Deputy Chief Inspector (DCI) Gemma Cooper said: ‘When provided with a bowl of water I witnessed Mercy drinking the entire bowl. She was extremely thirsty.’
The dog was taken to RSPCA’s Merthyr Tydfil Veterinary Clinic for an examination, before being taken care of by Gwent Police.
The vet said her ear infection would have been ‘obvious’ to the owner.
Matthew appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where he was banned from keeping animals for 10 years and received two suspended jail terms
He said: ‘During this time the dog would have been suffering unnecessarily from the problem and the owner has failed in his duty of care to source the treatment his dog needed.’
On reviewing the footage, an expert witness veterinary surgeon said Brad was ’caused to suffer physical pain and mental distress as a consequence of the actions of Mr Russell in beating the dog’.
Russell received a 12-week jail term suspended for 12 months for his mistreatment of Brad; and a 14-week prison term also suspended for his ill treatment of Mercy, to run consecutively.
He has also been banned from owning any animal for 10 years, and was ordered to 180 hours of unpaid work, costs of £650 and a £154 victim surcharge.
In addition, Russell must undertake 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.
