According to the RSPCA of London, 25-year-old Paul James Brunsden, and 27-year-old Stacey Louise Lockhurst, pleaded guilty to two charges of causing unnecessary suffering which they inflicted on their jointly owned puppy, "Jack."
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| RIP Jack |
Jack had been effectively abandoned inside of a plastic crate which ultimately became his tomb. By the time that RSPCA investigators found him, he was completely emaciated and surrounded by his own waste.
It was evident that Jack has suffered horribly before his untimely death.
According to prosecutor Andrew Wiles:
“When the top of the crate was removed it was clear the dog was emaciated. There was an inch or more of faeces covering all of the floor except where the dog was laying.”
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| Faces of evil: Stacey Louise Lockhurst and Paul James Brunsden |
The judge who presided over this torturous case of cruelty was Judge Michael Kelly. He stated:
“This is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty I have come across. This dog was confined in a little cage so small it appears it could barely stand up.
“It was kept there without being allowed out at all for any exercise or freedom and was starved to death.
“You could have released the dog. You could have provided food for it. You were offered help and advice from the RSPCA. I can’t think that any human being would have failed to recognise the suffering and distress of this dog.”
Several months before the tortured dog's body was discovered, RSPCA inspectors visited Lockhurst's home and advised that the dog not be kept inside of the plastic crate, offered training advice and even suggested that Jack be surrendered.
Unfortunately for the then 16-week-old puppy, the pair heeded none of the advise.
Instead, the dog was subjected to a dismal existence fraught with torment and agony.
No doubt, the day that Jack breathed his final breath, it was with great relief.
Brunsden has been banned from ever owning an animal again and Lockhurst may face a similar sentence.
The man defending Lockhurst attempted to deflect the blame for this cruelty on the woman's emotional problems and learning disabilities. She has been spending time in a respite center and her sentencing will take place in September.
Regardless, in light of this dog's incredible suffering, there is no sentence which will ever be quite enough.
(Examiner - August 3, 2012)
