A man who stabbed his girlfriend's dog with scissors has been banned from owning animals for 10 years.
Declan Milne, 22, from Edinburgh in Scotland, pleaded guilty to inflicting 14 stab wounds with a pair of nail scissors on the dog called Max—a 4-year-old black Labrador.
Following an investigation by the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Milne was charged for causing Max unnecessary suffering, according to a statement from the animal welfare charity.
In addition to the 10-year ban on owning animals, a judge sentenced Milne to a four-month restriction of liberty order—which requires him to remain at home from 7:30 p.m. to 7 a.m.—and also ordered him to complete 200 hours of community service.
Milne was brought to justice after the vet who treated Max's injuries became concerned that they were not accidental. The vet contacted the SPCA's animal helpline and an inspector, Fiona Thorburn, was assigned to the case.
Max belongs to the parent's of Milne's girlfriend. The family had left the dog with Milne and their daughter while they enjoyed a weekend away.
But at one point during the weekend, the girlfriend found the dog cowering in fear with feces all over the floor and on his tail.
She soon realized that Max was bleeding from several wounds spread out across his body. Milne's girlfriend also noticed that her nail scissors were missing and questioned her boyfriend about it, who said he knew nothing about the dog's wounds.
But when Milne presented the nail scissors to her, there was black hair on them. Investigators subsequently took the scissors away for forensic analysis and found dog blood and DNA on them.
After Milne's girlfriend discovered Max with the fresh injuries, she immediately phoned her family who returned home from their weekend away.
"The family were incredibly concerned and took Max straight to the vet where he received prompt treatment for his wounds," Thorburn said in a statement. "This has been an incredibly distressing time for Max and his owners. The family trusted Milne to look after their pet and unbeknownst to them, Milne caused Max a great deal of stress and pain. The suffering to Max is not just physical but would have caused him immense mental anguish too."
Thorburn said the dog sustained puncture wounds to his head, cheek, thighs and muzzle. According to the vet who treated the dog, the injuries were caused by stabbing deliberately with a sharp object.
"We are glad that Milne pled guilty and admitted to this appalling crime," the inspector said.
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