Fylde coast man jailed after being found guilty of 'barbaric' attacks on pet dog

Andrew MacKay, who lived at Clarence Avenue, Knott End, near Fleetwood, but has since moved to Livingston, West Lothian, was found guilty of four animal welfare charges after taking his pet dog, called Bonzo, to a local vets for a series of injuries he had inflicted.

HIs partner Nicole Logan, 27, of the same address in Poulton-Le-Fylde, was also found guilty of two animal welfare offences for failing to seek veterinary treatment for the pet who was left suffering for almost four months.

Blackpool Magistrates’ Court heard how Bonzo, a grey crossbreed dog, was taken to a vets in Garstang by MacKay on December 23, 2019 after he claimed he tripped over the dog and his 18 stone body fell on him.

The vet was unable to save Bonzo and he died during attempts to resuscitate him. The vet suspected that the pet had died as a result of abuse so reported the matter to the RSPCA.

Further investigations later revealed that in total Bonzo had suffered at least 25 rib fractures, an eye socket fracture, a cheek fracture, ruptured trachea and injuries to face. These injuries were caused on four separate occasions.

RSPCA Inspector Will Lamping along with officers from Lancashire Police visited Bonzo’s owner’s address as part of the investigation.

Logan told them that her partner had told her Bonzo received a punctured lung while running through some bushes.

Later that day, 30-year-old MacKay himself contacted the RSPCA and claimed he had injured Bonzo by standing on him and falling over him as he was washing up, while Logan was at work.

He also said the dog also had some old injuries from running through some bushes a month and a half before.

However, in court independent veterinary experts said the injuries could not have been caused by a fall but said Bonzo had been subjected to a series of abuse – and two attacks were most likely caused by blunt force trauma.

MacKay had claimed that on December 23, 2019, he fell on Bonzo while washing up and he tried to give him CPR for 10 minutes but when this failed he took the dog to the vets.

The vet saw some cuts around the dog’s mouth which MacKay said must have happened when he scraped himself against rocks while walking on the beach earlier.

The court heard how he had previously taken the dog to the same vets in October 2019 after claiming he was playing with the dog and a ball and when Bonzo appeared from some bushes he came out with a blister on his eye.

During this examination, the vet found the dog had a number of broken ribs, as well as the eye injury.

In a statement the independent veterinary expert said: “The majority of injuries sustained by Bonzo on both October 10, 2019 and December 23, 2019 were blunt force in nature. Blunt force trauma occurs when a stationary animal is struck with a moving object – for example hitting a dog with a hammer – or a moving animal collides with a stationary object such as throwing a dog against a wall.

“The radiographs produced on October 10 and December 23, 2019 indicate that Bonzo had sustained a large number of rib fractures. The rib fractures are so numerous it is difficult to determine precisely how many rib fractures have been sustained, but there are at least 25.

“The radiographs produced on October 10, 2019 indicate at least two separate episodes of trauma had occurred as some fractures had begun to heal which was the same on December 23.

“This indicates that Bonzo sustained blunt force trauma to the chest on at least four separate occasions between the beginning of September 2019 and December 23, 2019 that resulted in multiple rib fractures and a fractured right cheek bone.”

In sentencing the pair, the magistrate described the attacks as “barbaric and torturous” and that it was “prolonged and deliberate injuries”.

They added that Logan was aware of the injuries but failed to seek veterinary treatment for her dog who was left in a suffering state.

Inspector Lamping said: “The injuries caused to Bonzo were some of the worst I’ve seen. The image of his broken body will stay with me for a long time.”

As well as the 18-week jail term, MacKay was banned from keeping all animals for 10 years and was also ordered to pay £2,000 costs and a £128 victim surcharge.

Logan was given a 12-week prison term suspended for 12 months and was banned from keeping dogs for 10 years.

She was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and was given a curfew. She was also ordered to pay £200 costs and a £128 victim surcharge.