A DURRUS man, who admitted throwing a dog against a wall and kicking it repeatedly in the head was given a suspended sentence at a court in Cork city.
Steven Stawen (46) of Church Road, Durrus, has been banned from ever owning pets again.
Judge Sinead Behan was told how Stawen had repeatedly kicked the dog in the head and body, and flung it against a wall.
He claimed he did so because he wrongly thought the dog had killed a cat, when the dog had just chased the cat.
He pleaded guilty to animal cruelty by dragging the dog by the neck, kneeing the dog in the head and body and throwing him against a wall where he again kicked the animal in the head and body on Church Road, Durrus on March 26th of last year.
Sgt Louise Vaughan of Bantry Garda Station told Cork Circuit Criminal Court how gardaí were alerted to the incident of cruelty by a member of the public who had seen a video of the abuse posted on Facebook, in which the small grey whippet could be heard whimpering between kicks.
Gardai called to Stawen’s home where they found the dog and noticed that he was very timid and nervous. The dog was later removed from Stawen’s care and brought to an animal charity.
It has now been rehomed and is doing well.
Stawen’s barrister Ronan Barnes said that his client ‘had a very traumatised childhood’ in his native Germany until he was five years old, and then lived with a family in West Cork.
But he suffered from mental health issues and had a drink problem.
He also said Stawen had been involved in a long-term relationship and it ended shortly before this incident.
Mr Barnes pointed out that his client had pleaded guilty, and had not come to garda attention since the offence.
He added that it was not Stawen who had posted the video on Facebook.
Judge Sinead Behan said it was a ‘cowardly act of cruelty’.
‘It was a defenceless animal in his care, subjected to that treatment,’ she said.
She noted, from a probation report, that there was a high risk of Stawen re-offending.
She imposed a two-year jail sentence – but suspended it in full – and banned Stawen from owning any domestic pet ever again.
