A dog owner wept as he was jailed after his animal killed a beloved pet pooch during a horror attack. Jordan Smith was sentenced to eight months in prison after his dog Nala, a crossbreed, seriously injured Yorkshire terrier cross Harry. The dog had to be put down due to the severe pain he was in.
Harry’s owner Christine Robinson and her friend were also injured as Nala, thought to be a cane corso, ran away from Smith while it was not secured by a lead. Smith, 32, held his head in his hands and cried as he was led down to begin his sentence.
Nala will be destroyed, and Smith was banned from having a dog indefinitely. Minshull Street Crown Court heard that on July 3 last year, Smith, who lived in a seventh floor flat in Stockport, was taking Nala out for a walk.
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He was caught on CCTV kicking the dog once in an ‘aggressive’ manner, prosecutor Simon Parry said. After Smith had taken the dog outside, Nala ran off in the direction of nearby Reddish Vale Country Park.
Mrs Robinson, 77, was in the park with her friend Joan McGovern, with the pair walking their dogs. Suddenly they noticed a dog running towards them.
It tried to go for Harry, but Mrs Robinson was able to move him away. But Nala then jumped up and began ‘ragging Harry around like a toy’.
The women desperately tried to free Harry from the dog’s grip but they were unable to due to its strength. During their efforts, Mrs Robinson was bitten, and both women were pulled to the floor.
Eventually Nala became ‘exhausted’ and let go. Harry was taken to the vets and then onto a veterinary hospital, but his injuries were ‘so horrific that euthanasia was the only option’, Mr Parry said.
Mr Robinson also went to hospital for bites to her hand to be cleaned. Mrs McGovern suffered cuts and bruises.
Nala was seized by police, and Smith came forward as its owner. He told police that he ‘couldn’t accept’ his dog was responsible. Mr Parry claimed remarks made during an interview showed Smith was ‘exactly the type of person who is utterly incapable of being a responsible dog owner’.
In a statement read to the court, Mrs Robinson said: “My little Harry didn’t stand a chance. He only weighed 7.5 kilos and suffered from arthritis.
“He didn’t deserve to die like that.” Smith, who has 42 previous offences on his record, had a ‘difficult upbringing’ and spent 18 months homeless, his barrister Graham Rishton said.
He said Smith had now found stable accommodation and had worked as a painter and decorator. Mr Rishton said he accepted Smith was at ‘serious risk’ of being sent to prison, but appealed to the judge to step back from such a punishment.
Judge Tina Landale told Smith: “The trauma of that event, and the impact on Mrs Robinson has been completely devastating. She lives with the consequences of your offence, and will live with the consequences of your offence for the rest of her life.
“It is clear that she has lost a well loved family member. In the pre-sentence report it is clear that you are not genuinely remorseful. In reality, there is little mitigation.”
Smith, of Dunton Towers, Brinnington, pleaded guilty to two charges of being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control. He was found guilty of a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
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