A woman who blamed an ‘intruder’ for slashing her pet’s head, nose and body 31 times has been jailed for attacking her springer spaniel.
Kim Edmonds, 21, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog at Stoke-on-Trent magistrates court last week.
She was sentenced today to 20 weeks in prison, minus the six days she has already served. The maximum sentence she could have got was six months.
She has also been given a lifetime disqualification of all animals and cannot apply for the ban to be lifted.
The court had heard that Edmonds, who had been taking medication for depression, had slashed her 14-year-old dog Stig and her other dog Dan to a lesser extent, in her back garden in September last year.
Stig had 31 separate lacerations and burn wounds on his head, nose and body, and has since been treated and rehomed after the horrific attack. It is not known what weapon was used to attack the dog.
The RSPCA said Edmonds had claimed that an balaclava-wearing intruder had broken into her back garden and attacked the dog and her.
She made a 999 call to Staffordshire police on September 7 last year – but her minor wounds were found to be self-inflicted and the police referred the case to the RSPCA.
According to This is Staffordshire, detective constable Gary Madeley from Burslem Police Station said: ‘It was like an abattoir. There was blood all over the living room and the kitchen.
‘Edmonds’ demeanour, considering the report and her dog had been mutilated, was calm.’
Judge Taylor said: ‘It’s a serious offence that needs the right course of action.’Edmonds was convicted of one charge of the Section 4 Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The medical costs of the dogs has cost the RSPCA thousands of pounds. Both dogs have now been re-homed together.
RSPCA Deputy chief inspector Jayne Bashford said: ‘Kim is a very dangerous lady and the injuries suffered by the dogs were totally horrendous.
‘In terms of injuries deliberately inflicted – this is the most traumatic incident I’ve seen.
‘Every person involved has been severely affected by what they saw.
‘It’s caused people a lot of distress.”
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