Court hears how Newbiggin pet dog was hanged
Aug 21 2009 by Dave Black , The Journal
A PET dog was found hanged to death after it had jumped out of a back garden enclosure in which it had been tethered by its owner, a court was told yesterday.
Tamsin, a Staffordshire bull terrier, who was six-years-old, choked to death when it was left suspended from a fence by a length of dog lead which had been fixed round its neck.
The incident happened when the animal managed to jump out of a dog run, which had been constructed out of wire mesh and wood, where it was enclosed for several hours each day.
One end of two dog leads, that had been joined together, was tied to the inside of the enclosure’s fence with the other end fastened to a collar around the dog’s neck.
Tamsin was found hanging on the outside of the run and was dead by the time a neighbour managed to cut the lead and free her.
A vet who carried out a post mortem on the bull terrier said it had died from asphyxiation in a "protracted process which would have caused the unfortunate animal a large degree of unnecessary suffering while she died".
Yesterday Tamsin’s owner, mother-of-three Tracey Anne Leck, 35, of East Lea, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, denied a charge of causing the dog unnecessary suffering, but the case was found proved by magistrates in Bedlington.
Leck was banned from keeping dogs for five years, ordered to pay £300 costs and given a 12-month community sentence, which includes 110 hours of unpaid work.
Judith Curry, prosecuting, said Insp Ian Smith was called to Leck’s home after the dog’s death was reported to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
In an interview Leck conceded that she knew Tamsin was prone to jumping and that her former partner had warned her about tying the dog up in the enclosure.
She admitted to Insp Smith that she should not have left her tethered in the run.
Ms Curry said the prosecution case was that Leck should have known that, in tethering the dog in the way she did, there was a risk of it jumping the fence and being caused unnecessary suffering.
Graham Crouth, defending, said Leck had been extremely upset by the dog’s death.
He said: "This was a one-off tragic accident and she never intended any harm to come to the dog."
Mr Crouth said magistrates had to decide whether the defendant should have known it was likely that the dog would be caused unnecessary suffering because of the manner in which she tethered it at the time.
