'Nazi pug' hate crime man to appeal sentence

A man who filmed a pet dog giving Nazi salutes before putting the footage on YouTube said he plans to appeal his sentence.

Mark Meechan, 30, recorded his girlfriend's pug, Buddha, responding to statements such as "Sieg Heil" by raising its paw.

The clip was viewed more than three million times on YouTube.

Speaking outside Airdire Sheriff Court after being fined £800, Meechan said the sentence set a "really dangerous" precedent.

Sheriff Derek O'Carroll found Meechan guilty under the Communications Act for posting a video which was grossly offensive because it was "anti-Semitic and racist in nature" and was aggravated by religious prejudice.

Passing sentence, he told Meechan: "A joke can be grossly offensive. A racist joke or a grossly offensive video does not lose its racist or grossly offensive quality merely because the maker asserts he only wanted to get a laugh."