A man has been sent to prison for 18 weeks after beating his puppy to death with a baseball bat.

Craig Andrew Lee Curtis, 27, of Chapel Street, Exning, Newmarket, pleaded guilty to cruelty charges under the Animal Welfare Act at Cambridge Magistrates Court yesterday (Thursday 9 August 2012). He received an 18-week custodial sentence and was banned from keeping dogs for life.

The RSPCA was called after a passer-by found the body of Bruno, a male brindle and white Staffordshire bull terrier, dead in woods near Curtis’ home in March. The dog, thought to be just six months old, was wrapped in blood-stained sheets inside a black bin bag with blood around his nose and mouth.

A post mortem revealed Bruno had fractures to his skull and died from after being attacked by a blunt instrument on his head and would have been alive when attacked.

The court heard evidence that Curtis had strung Bruno up by his collar on a weights bench after he urinated on the floor and battered him to death with a baseball bat. His corpse was then put in the freezer, and later taken out and dumped in the wood.

Inspector Richard Lithgoe, who investigated the case, said: “This was easily the most shocking  case of cruelty I have ever seen. This is a horrendously violent man – I was so shocked at how the ferocious and brutal this attack was.

“This poor young dog was victim to a senseless brutality and would have been in an extreme amount of pain. The worst part is he was alive when this attack took place and so would have suffered for a long, lingering, gruesome death.”

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