Kristopher Barwell pleaded guilty on Wednesday to causing unnecessary pain and suffering to his border collie, Zeus, in the summer of 2012.
The dog began living with the Barwell family in July, when he was a few months old, according to an agreed statement of facts.
On July 24, neighbour Yvonne Scott saw Barwell chase the dog into the backyard, pin him to the ground and punch him with “extreme force,” prosecutor Christian Lim told court.
“What are you doing?” Scott yelled at Barwell, who owned the dog. “Knock it off, right now. I don’t know what that dog did, but there is nothing it possibly could have done to deserve that. There is a difference between a slap and a beating and that is a beating.”
A couple days later, Barwell told Scott he had overreacted and would not mistreat Zeus again.
In August, Scott and her husband watched as Barwell punched the dog, yanked on his leash and finally swung the dog into the fence. Court heard that Barwell only stopped when confronted.
“How would you like me to do that to you?” Steven Scott asked over the fence.
Throughout July and August, Barwell’s siblings and parents noticed Zeus transform into a “submissive, cowering” dog. They noticed the dog limping and witnessed Barwell “excessively” hitting Zeus during house-training. Court also heard the dog was tied in the yard on a very short leash and often lacked food and water.
Barwell’s family had previously told him not to abuse his dog, court heard.
On Aug. 11, other members of the Barwell family carried Zeus into an emergency veterinarian clinic after they discovered he was lethargic and unable to walk on his own. The dog could no longer eat or drink, Lim said.
The veterinarian found that Zeus had a severe blood infection, deep puncture wounds on his head and ears, friction burns around his neck and body, wounds that were infected with maggots, chipped teeth, lesions on his lips, improperly healing fractures of both hind legs and two pellets embedded near his right hind leg.
“These injuries were consistent with excessive force being used on the dog on numerous occasions,” Lim said.
Though a veterinarian thought the dog’s injuries were so severe that it was best to euthanize him, Zeus survived, though he will never be fully healed, Lim said.
“Had he not been brought for emergency medical care, he certainly could have died,” veterinarian Anthea Smith wrote in a report filed in court.
Shawna Randolph, spokeswoman for the Edmonton Humane Society, said the dog was brought to them as a broken animal but survived through hip replacement surgery and physiotherapy until he was able to thrive again.
“He is only alive today because of everything that everyone has done for him, but also because someone had the courage to come forward in the first place,” Randolph said. “People need to speak for animals and report abuse.”
The dog now lives with another family. He has been re-named Kaden, which means warrior.
A sentencing hearing for Barwell has not yet been scheduled.
(Edmonton Journal - May 1, 2013)
