South Shields man jailed for beating dog with mallet

A neighbour filmed the Labrador-cross being beaten with a mallet by Jamie Graham

A man has been jailed and banned for life from keeping animals after he beat a dog with a mallet.

Jamie Graham, 25, of South Shields, was captured by a neighbour on video attacking the Labrador-cross called Blue in his backyard in October 2020.

The RSPCA subsequently found a new home for Blue.

Graham, of Westcott Road, was found guilty at Newcastle Magistrates' Court on 1 December and was jailed for 26 weeks.

The court heard how the neighbour had reported the incident to the RSPCA, which discovered Blue had been moved to a different address.

The dog was then taken to an independent vet for an examination and although no fractures were discovered, she was given pain relief and kept overnight before being released into RSPCA care.

'Suffered pain'

The vet told the court: "It is apparent that force blows were videoed, but I have to assume that the witness had seen other blows prior to this as they would not have been videoing otherwise.

"In my opinion, this dog must have suffered pain from these blows, and it is very likely that she was still in pain when examined on the following day. It is for this reason that she was given pain relief."

Graham claimed he was punishing his dog for biting someone else, but there were no complaints to support this and the RSPCA said that was at odds from the dog's friendly disposition.

Graham was also forced to pay costs on top of his two other charges.