Middlesbrough man jailed for breaking puppy's bones and bleach attack

Ruby the pug suffered multiple fractures including a shattered pelvis

A man has been jailed for battering a seven-month-old puppy to death and rubbing bleach into her back.

James Wright-King, 24, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to pug Ruby after fracturing her skull.

During RSPCA interviews Wright-King said Ruby "was like our child", Teesside Magistrates' Court heard.

Wright-King, of Darwen Court, Hemlington, Middlesbrough, was jailed for six months and also banned from keeping animals for life.

Wright-King and his girlfriend Jasmine Smith, 20, of the same address, were also found guilty of failing to provide a safe environment and failing to get vet treatment for the dog.

The pair had denied the charges.

'Blunt traumas'

Smith was given an 18-month probation order and ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work.

The hearing heard RSPCA workers found Ruby had suffered at least three blunt traumas resulting in numerous broken bones including her ribs, pelvis, femur and neck.

She also had a lacerated tongue and her skull was so badly fractured it had led to her death, magistrates heard.

The court heard how Wright-King had taken the dog after she had died to the vets on 17 November 2020 claiming he had injured her by falling on her while playing.

The injuries were reported to RSPCA inspector Krissy Raine.

Ruby the pug's skull was so badly fractured that it led to her death, a vet concluded

An independent veterinary report found as well as multiple broken bones, Ruby had suffered a severe burn caused by bleach being scrubbed along her back.

Wright-King claimed it had been caused by an allergic reaction to soap, the hearing heard.

'Instantly unconscious'

The expert vet said in a statement: "Ruby suffered extreme pain and distress as a consequence of the multiple fractures and soft tissue injuries that she sustained as a result of at least three very violent blunt force traumas.

"As well as this, she suffered severe burns that were in my expert opinion were also deliberately inflicted by Wright-King.

"There is a reasonable question in relation to the final incident as to whether Ruby did suffer as a result of the skull fractures as the injury to the brain and spinal cord was so severe it is certainly possible and in fact likely that she was rendered instantly unconscious."

Ms Raine said it was "hard to comprehend the pain" in her five months with the defendant.

"I found it a deeply upsetting case to investigate and the magistrates said in sentencing that they were horrified," she added.

Wright-King was also ordered to pay £600 costs and Smith was fined £400.