Man guilty of 'shocking' attack on spaniel

Published on Wednesday 20 February 2008 14:09

A MAN who kicked a dog around a beach "like a football" while carrying a small child was today found guilty of a "shocking and cowardly" attack.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Martin McNaught, 29, had taken his ex-girlfriend's Welsh springer spaniel for a walk at Cramond beach before he was due for a job interview.

But he lost his temper when Simba refused to go back to the car and he lashed out at the dog in front of shocked dogwalkers.

The court heard how eyewitnesses screamed at him to stop as he continued to attack the dog with a frenzy of kicks and they feared for the dog's life during the attack.

At one point, McNaught was said to put his foot on the dog's head and pushed down onto a stony surface.

He then dragged the animal back to his car and pulled it over a wall before dumping it in the boot of his car.

During the prolonged attack, in which the dog was kicked "at least 20 times", McNaught was seen with a young baby or a toddler in his arms, thought to be between six months and two years old.

The dog did not appear to be injured after being looked over by two vets assigned by the SSPCA.

After a day-long trial, unemployed McNaught was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog by repeatedly kicking it.

Sheriff Elizabeth Jarvie described his actions as "shocking and cowardly" and deferred sentence on him for reports.

The court heard from dog walker Barbara Brewster that the attack left her "sickened" and unable to sleep.

She had been out walking her own dog on the beach in Edinburgh's Cramond area with her friend David Waughman when she saw Simba running aimlessly around the beach more than 200 yards away.

Mrs Brewster, a psychiatric nurse, told the court her amusement at the dog turned to horror as she saw the man kick out at the dog as he tried to put a lead on it.

He then continued to kick the dog on the body as he dragged it to his car despite the protests of other dogwalkers in the area.

She admitted to the court that she feared the dog would be killed during the assault.

When she challenged him by shouting "You will never have this dog again, this will be the end of you with animals", his only response was "is that right?"

He then picked the dog up and put it in the boot of his car before driving off.

She told the court: "It was not just once, it was continual. It kept going on and on.

"People screamed at him to stop. But the dog just cowered down as if it knew what was coming."

Mrs Brewster continued: "It was sickening to watch. It was disgusting.

I didn't know if the dog was even going to live, I couldn't sleep for nights."

Mr Waughman said he heard the dog "yelping" as it was kicked.

"It was the worst attack I have seen on a dog in my life, I have never seen anything like it. It was like he was kicking a football."

The pair reported McNaught to police and gave his registration plate so he could be traced.

Both identified McNaught, of Gilmour Street, Edinburgh, as the culprit in court.

Ex-mechanic McNaught had denied to the court that he had kicked the dog during the incident and claimed he had only pushed him with his foot because he refused to move.

He told the court: "I tried to shove his bum with my foot because he was refusing to move.

"He knew he had been bad and wouldn't get into the car."

But his evidence was rejected by the court and McNaught was found guilty of the offence. He had earlier admitted two charges relating to motoring offences on the same day because he had no licence or insurance for the car. The incident happened on Marine Drive on March 6 last year.