Man beats dog with mop in ‘horrendous’ attack
Adam Wardle is now banned from keeping animals for 10 years
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A man has been convicted of punching and kicking his dog because it had soiled the floor of his flat.
Adam Wardle, 23, was captured on CCTV attacking Bobby, a three-year-old mastiff cross, with a mop behind a bin store.
The video shows Wardle dragging Bobby off the floor on its lead while punching it.
He then drags Bobby next to the bin and stops as a pedestrian walks past.
But once the passer-by disappears, Wardle continues to kick and hit Bobby with a mop.
The attack left Bobby’s face, elbows and hocks bruised and it also suffered a cut on its left eye.
Postal workers reported seeing the dog being beaten outside the property on 25 April this year and said they had seen a man walking away.
South Yorkshire Police then went to the accommodation block opposite and discovered the footage.
RSPCA inspector Vannessa Reid accompanied a police officer to Wardle’s home, where he admitted the attack.
When asked why he had attacked the defenceless dog, Wardle told them: “He toileted inside and I got angry.
“Then he did it again and I got doubly angry and that’s what you’ve seen.”
The inspector then took Bobby to the vets, where it was checked over and treated with painkillers.
Barnsley Magistrates Court heard how a vet found several bruises to the dog’s face, elbows and hocks, while Bobby also had a small cut on its left eye.
In mitigation, the court was told the defendant had not received his medication and, finding himself “in a dark place”, took it out on the dog.
It was said Wardle was “thoroughly ashamed” of his actions and had swiftly signed the dog over into the care of the RSPCA.
Wardle, who pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the dog, was banned from keeping animals for 10 years during the hearing on 11 October.
Magistrates told Wardle his prolonged attack on the animal was a “horrendous” offence.
As well as the 10-year ban, they placed him under a 12-month community service order.
Wardle, of Bondfield Crescent, Barnsley, was also told to pay costs of £400 and a victim surcharge of £95.
Bobby has remained in the care of the RSPCA and will be rehomed, the charity confirmed.
SWNS