Crosland Moor man Paul Taylor stamped on and killed his own pet in self-defence

Jun 9 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A MAN who stamped on his elderly pet dog causing her death has escaped punishment.

Frail crossbreed Patch suffered fractured ribs and a ruptured liver when her owner Paul Taylor stomped on her in his steel-capped boots.

But the 42-year-old was spared jail when magistrates decided he acted in self-defence after the animal bit him.

Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court heard Taylor’s partner Samantha Haigh called police to their home at Chapel Terrace, Crosland Moor, following their pet’s death.

Miss Haigh told the court that she had been downstairs preparing dinner when she heard a loud bang from the floor above.

She said: “I heard my dog yelping. I came straight upstairs and Paul said to me ‘You’d better go and have a look at the dog, there’s something wrong with her’.

“I knelt over my dog. She was laid on her side and breathing very slowly. I rolled her over on to her back and tried pushing on her chest to give her CPR, but it didn’t work – she was dead within minutes.”

A post mortem revealed Patch, a Jack Russell-Collie cross who suffered problems with her hind legs, died from internal bleeding.

Caroline Brown, a vet who examined the dog, said: “She suffered fractured ribs to her chest and rupture of her liver caused by a traumatic attack. She died from shock and severe blood loss.

“It is my professional opinion that the dog suffered greatly from the attack. The physical abuse she suffered led to her death.”

Mrs Brown also said that the dog, aged around 12, had suffered fractured ribs previously, but admitted she didn’t know what caused these.