Dog owner is jailed for slashing pet 31 times with 'sharp bladed instrument'
A 21-YEAR-OLD woman found guilty of slashing her pet dog 31 times in one of the 'worst cases of animal cruelty' ever seen in North Staffordshire, has been jailed for 20 weeks.
Kim Edmonds, of Lily Street, Wolstanton, carried out the attack on her 14-year-old Springer Spaniel Stig on September 7, then cut herself in a bid to fool police into thinking an intruder was responsible for the injuries.
At Stoke-on-Trent Magistrates Court yesterday, she was jailed for 20 weeks and given an unlimited ban on keeping animals.
District Judge David Taylor – who rejected an appeal to adjourn sentencing to wait for a psychiatric report – told her: "You caused 31 separate wounds, the largest being eight inches long and which exposed muscle.
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"Other injuries involved burning to the muzzle, eyes, ears and back.
"This is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty this court would have seen."
Mr Taylor said he would have imposed the maximum sentence available to him – six months in prison – if the injuries had been caused over a sustained period of time.
He said he also showed leniency due to an emotional disorder which Edmonds has been diagnosed with.
Speaking after the sentencing, RSPCA Deputy Chief Inspector Jayne Bashford said: "I think the judge has made a very considered verdict and the sentence reflects the severity of the injuries Stig received.
"Edmonds made a 999 call to police to say both she and the dog had been attacked in the rear garden of her home.
"Police referred the investigation to us and it became very evident, very quickly, that the account she had given could not be true.
"It has been a very long and complicated inquiry, which has involved forensic doctors to prove that the wounds she sustained had been caused by herself.
"Therefore, the one person who could have been responsible for the injuries to Stig was her.
"There were 31 separate cuts and lacerations to his body, mainly his head, ears and back, caused by a sharp bladed instrument.
"The cuts were extremely deep, going through all layers of skin and tissue and exposing muscles below. It is one of the worst cases I have ever seen.
"The injuries were deliberately inflicted on a family pet, by his owner."
Stig has since been rehomed, along with Daniel, another Springer Spaniel also owned by Edmonds and her husband Daniel.
Stig, who had been given a home by Mr Edmonds eight-years ago from a rescue centre, has recovered following surgery.
The hearing was attended by protesters who met over a Facebook group called Justice For Stig and Daniel, set up to campaign for a tougher sentence.
Michelle Whitmore, aged 43, of Milehouse, said: "It's a paltry sentence. It should be at least five years."
Comments
by sedgewick1
Thursday, October 18 2012, 4:36PM
“Please, sign this online petition for Animal cruelty improved legislation, called, Alfie's law, http://tinyurl.com/9q8a65l these evil people need to be punished accordingly, we need this law to be passed.”
by 785434
Monday, September 03 2012, 12:55PM
“While I think that the lifetime ban on keeping animals is a great outcome and it'll mean it is unlikely that anything like this will ever happen again, I don't think much of the prison sentence.
However, it seems likely that this woman is suffering from some pretty serious mental health problems. Hopefully the reason that the sentence is so short, is because she will be transferred to a secure unit after the sentence, and get some sort of treatment for this.
Also, I think that the maximum sentence of 6 months for this offence is a joke. They really need to increase that to at least 10 or 20 years, or maybe have no maximum limit on the sentence at all.”
by muzzer57
Sunday, September 02 2012, 12:53PM
“No point in a fine she is probably a dole whaller.”
by michellew
Sunday, September 02 2012, 2:17AM
“what wasnt mentioned on here and was in court (i was there)is that she had a drink problem, a mental health assessment was done in june and found no hint of a mental health issue, she was happy and smiley all the way through until she was told she would get a custodial sentence then her face dropped. She then knew she wasnt going get the easy way out. dont know why she didnt get a fine also as she has cost the RSPCA thousands.”
by Jolyteddy
Saturday, September 01 2012, 1:56PM
“What an odd setup, as my post is back.”
by Jolyteddy
Saturday, September 01 2012, 1:39PM
“My post giving Daily Mail links to this story, appears to have been removed . Why,as the Sentinel and Mail have the same owners ?”
by Jolyteddy
Saturday, September 01 2012, 1:31PM
“The Daily Mail stories :
http://tinyurl.com/cluq4tv
http://tinyurl.com/8dbkusb”
by Jolyteddy
Saturday, September 01 2012, 1:22PM
“The dog in the photo is the one least injured. The other was very badly hurt, with cuts down to the bone.Photos and more details are in the Daily Mail.
It's odd that no dogs are mentioned in the February fire reports, although reptiles are.”
by Johntoe
Saturday, September 01 2012, 10:10AM
“After reading more about this woman in other stories in this paper,
HERE- http://tinyurl.com/c7amzmu
AND HERE- http://tinyurl.com/crtoda6
It's quite obvious that there is something wrong here, She seems more in need of some sort of psychiatric help rather than prison, I can't believe that the judge didn't 'join the dots' so to speak,
As it stands she has been given neither punishment (10 weeks will probably be 5 or 6) OR 'help'
If she isn't mentality ill then the judge has let US down, if she is mentality ill then the judge has let HER down.”
by Richard370
Saturday, September 01 2012, 8:55AM
“Poor dog, why did the sicko do it? They should put her in a room with nasty hungry dogs”