Apr 20 - Man Given Suspended Sentence For Cruelty To Puppy
A local man who was convicted of cruelty to a puppy which died after spending just a week under his care was yesterday sentenced to two months in custody, suspended for 18 months, and disqualified from owning a dog younger than 18 months.
Nigel Wheddon, 57, was sentenced at the Magistrates’ Court yesterday after he was convicted of causing unnecessary cruelty or suffering to a two-month-old Yorkshire Terrier called ‘Ashley’.
The court previously heard that the defendant’s brother had bought him the puppy from the pet shop in the ICC on 2nd December last year. Within a week he returned to the pet shop claiming the puppy hadn’t eaten for two days because it was missing his mother.
The puppy was rushed to the vet and was found to be dehydrated, emaciated and flea-ridden, and died that same night.
Wheddon’s lawyer Charles Salter said his client was a vulnerable adult who had suffered brain damage following a collision 40 years ago. Mr Salter said this trauma had had an effect on his client and every decision he makes in life.
Mr Salter urged the courts to place a limited restriction of his client, adding that it was absurd to characterise the behaviour as cruel, as Wheddon was not a cruel person.
He asked: “My client doesn’t have a family or human company, should he be deprived of animal company as well? Our answer is no.”
The court heard Wheddon had previously owned a dog – called ‘Mr Snoopy’ - for four years before it died after being run over. Since then, Wheddon has kept this dog in his freezer as he hopes to be buried with Mr Snoopy.
Wheddon said he would move to Texas with Mr Snoopy if there was a ban imposed on him from owning dogs in the future.
While sentencing, Stipendiary Magistrate Charles Pitto said it was the neglect that led to the unnecessary suffering of the dog and that, despite being cared for, it was the flea infestation that was the ultimate cause of death.
Mr Pitto sentenced Wheddon to two months in custody, suspended for 18 months, and disqualified him from owning a dog that was under 18 months old, and to ensure the dog was well treated and that there was no infestation in the house.
Ishbel Armstrong appeared for the Crown.
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