WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Simon Elliott, 45, knifed his pal’s beagle to death and also repeatedly stabbed a Staffie multiple times after being asked to look after them while his friend was on holiday
A man has been jailed for killing his friend’s dog by stabbing it through its heart. Simon Elliott, 45, repeatedly knifed a second dog after being asked to look after the beloved pets while his pal was on holiday.
Nottingham Crown Court heard how a neighbour entered Elliott’s flat and found Rosie the beagle “stiff and cold” as well as the other pooch, a Staffie called Sabre, with a number of stab wounds, in a scene she described as “abhorrent and barbaric”.
Janita Patel, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said the owners of both dogs had left them in the care of Elliott while they were away.
She said: “A neighbour said she saw the defendant looking jittery outside his address. He said to her ‘someone has killed my dog’, adding ‘there’s a cow in my bed’.
“She was concerned the defendant had harmed the animals and so entered his flat and noticed a strong smell of flesh. She then saw a dog with a wound to its chest and then another dog lying on the floor with its tongue hanging out.
“It was cold and stiff to the touch and she realised the dog was dead. She also noticed there was a large knife. The police arrived and the neighbour described the scene as ‘abhorrent, barbaric and extremely upsetting’. One of the dogs had been stabbed and the knife had penetrated the heart while the other had been stabbed multiple times.”
Miss Patel read out a victim impact made by the owners, who told how devastating it was for them to explain what had happened to the dogs to their children.
Elliott, of Eastwood, Notts, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. He has previous “alcohol-related” convictions, the court heard.
Jabeen Akhtar, mitigating, said her client was “going through a psychotic episode at the time” he stabbed the animals. She said: “In his letter he says ‘I would like to express how sorry I am.
“I have previously looked after the dogs on numerous occasions as the owners were friends of mine for many years and I have lost that friendship. I had problems with alcohol and I am truly sorry for what I did.’ This was a one-off while he was suffering a mental episode. He has made significant efforts to find work and stay off alcohol.”
Jailing him for 18 months, Judge Stuart Rafferty KC said: “Only you will know how clearly you remember what happened. You knew you had mental health issues and you knew you had been on (an alcohol) binge.
“You were an accident waiting to happen and all you had to say to (the victims) was ‘I am sorry, I can’t look after the dogs’. It is difficult to say if you attacked both of these dogs during the same episode. Dogs, like human beings, have instincts and Sabre would undoubtedly be scarred by what it saw.” Elliott was also from keeping any animal for 10 years.
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