Hartlepool man jailed for 's.a.v.a.g.e' dog a.t.t.a.c.k

A man who repeatedly b.e.a.t his dog, leaving it with 29 fractured bones, has been jailed.

Coco, a Shih Tzu type dog, was left with a broken pelvis, multiple broken ribs and fractures and bruising.

The court heard how the "s.a.v.a.g.e" a.t.t.a.c.k left her in a condition likened to having been in a traffic collision.

Christopher Watson, 19, of Hartlepool. was jailed for 18 weeks and banned from keeping animals for life at the town's magistrates court.

RSPCA inspector Aislinn Balderston said: "This dog had suffered such appalling injuries it is harrowing to hear the details.

"For someone to do something so s.a.v.a.g.e to a small dog who couldn't possibly have protected herself is disgusting. She would have suffered terrible pain and fear."

Watson was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog by subjecting it to physical violence and causing unnecessary suffering by failing to call a vet and not feeding the animal properly.

Coco, who has been renamed Maggie, is recovering well and is now "playful and affectionate", the RSPCA said.