An unemployed chef has been jailed for failing to take his puppy to the vet – despite it suffering a broken leg after being hit by a car.
Luke Kildare’s 18-week-old shepherd cross called Fatty spent more than two hours in agony.
It was only given medical help after animal welfare officers were alerted to its suffering and forcibly seized the puppy to take it to a vet.
The intervention came after the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) was called.
They were contacted by a person who witnessed the dog being struck by a car and also by a neighbour, whose offer to drive Kildare and his pet to the vet was rejected.
When the SSPCA immediately paid a visit to the 40-year-old’s home in Macduff, they found the dog in pain and Kildare was reluctant to do anything about it.
‘Horrendous scream’ heard from puppy
Fiscal depute Ellen Barr told Banff Sheriff Court that the puppy was hit by a car on February 1 2021.
A witness contacted the SSPCA at 6.05pm to share their fear that Kildare wasn’t going to take his dog for medical treatment.
When an officer from the charity visited Kildare’s home, at The Hythie, Macduff, they were allowed in.
While there, the officer received a second call expressing concern for the same puppy.
“This caller reported that she heard what she describes as a ‘horrendous scream’ coming from the street and that she knew from the sounds it was being made by a dog,” Ms Barr said.
“She went out of her house and saw the accused carrying a puppy. He was also holding a tin of beer, a bag of shopping and appeared to be trying to light a cigarette.
“She offered to take the accused and the dog to the vet but he declined this offer.”
Kildare did, however, agree to bring the dog to the woman’s porch so they could inspect its injuries under the light.
“He held it under the light and said it looked fine,” the court heard. “The witness pressed the matter and suggested the dog should be seen by a vet – but the accused said no.
“She described the puppy as lying dazed in his arms.”
Owner ‘couldn’t afford’ to take puppy to vet
SSPCA officers said they found the puppy lying on the sofa and it was “immediately obvious that the dog was badly injured”.
Fatty’s fractured and bloodied right leg was swollen to double the size of its left leg, with broken nails and scratches to the pads of his feet.
The injuries were all consistent with being hit by a car, the court was told.
The dog was “subdued as though in shock” and when Kildare touched its leg it “howled in pain”.
At 8pm, Kildare also lied to officers and said the accident had happened only an hour before – despite the witness confirming it occurred at 5.40pm.
The charity said that his failure to seek treatment had left the dog in pain for at least two hours and had left the puppy with injuries that will haunt them for life.
Kildare told them he “couldn’t afford” to take the puppy to the vet and remained “indecisive and unclear” about giving the SSPCA permission to do it for him.
But after being told they didn’t need his permission, the dog was seized and taken to a vet in Fraserburgh and given surgery that night.
‘Dog was extremely hungry and thirsty’
“The puppy’s pain score was rated 4 out of 5 and the dog couldn’t bear any weight on his right leg,” the fiscal added.
“Methadone was given through an IV drip and anti-inflammatory drugs were used. The dog was extremely hungry and thirsty too.”
X-rays confirmed that Fatty’s right leg had become fractured and Kildare eventually signed the dog into the SSPCA’s care.
In court, he pled guilty to one charge of causing an animal unnecessary suffering.
His defence agent Stuart Beveridge said his client hadn’t realised how hurt the puppy was and had taken his “subdued and quiet” state to mean he wasn’t seriously hurt.
Mr Beveridge added that the father-of-one, who had been a talented head chef, then found himself out of pocket when a job in the north-east fell through and he’d turned to substance abuse.
“He didn’t realise how unwell the puppy was,” he explained. “He noticed that the leg was swollen up. It was a short-lived incident”.
The solicitor said that Fatty’s mother remains in Kildare’s ownership and there were no concerns about her care.
However, she is currently living with a friend while Kildare serves a prison sentence until at least August 2024.
Sheriff Robert McDonald told Kildare: “I am satisfied this is not necessarily a case of you persistently neglecting an animal but more that you didn’t recognise that it needed veterinary treatment – whether you could afford it or not”.
He fined Kildare, a prisoner of HMP Grampian, £790 but accepted he couldn’t pay it.
Instead, Kildare was given the alternative of 28 days’ imprisonment – to run concurrently with his current sentence, meaning he won’t spend any extra time in jail.
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