A man who made a frenzied attack on his pet dog in which he kicked, punched and strangled the whimpering animal over several hours has been spared jail.
Amarildo Prebibaj, 29, was filmed by a concerned neighbour attacking Hugo outside his flat in Springfield Road, Brighton.
At a hearing in July, he was told the attack was so severe, he could be jailed.
But last week, after hearing that the dog had not been injured, a bench instead ordered him to undertake 80 hours of unpaid work as part of a year-long community order.
In July, Brighton Magistrates Court heard neighbour Matthew Reeves could see the dog tied up in a small yard outside Prebibaj’s home from his window.
Prosecuting, David Holman said Mr Reeves first heard barking at 7pm, and when he looked out of the window, he saw a man come out of the flat and hit the dog. This then started happening every ten minutes.
Over the next couple of hours, he saw Prebibaj take a running kick to the dog’s head, kick it three times in the ribs, punch it several times in the face and strangle it, lifting it so its front legs were off the ground.
Mr Holman said: “It was a frenzied attack. The dog just cowered in the corner whimpering and not even barking.”
At about 9.30pm, Mr Reeves started to film the attacks so he would have evidence of what happened, and the video caught Prebibaj bashing the dog’s head against a brick wall.
Prebibaj was later charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. He initially pleaded not guilty, and was due to stand trial yesterday, but changed his plea to guilty at the last minute.
He also agreed to sign ownership of Hugo to the police in the hope they will be able to rehome him.
Mr Holman told Brighton Magistrates court the CPS’s view was the offence was not serious enough for a prison sentence.
But after hearing just part of the facts of the case, chair of the bench Alison Musker said it clearly reached the custody threshold.
The hearing was adjourned for pre-sentence reports to be prepared.
Prebibaj, who now lives in Hounslow, returned to the same court on Friday for sentencing.
Defending, James McPherson said: “The defendant felt he was in a difficult position, staying with people he didn’t really know.
“The dog was making a lot of noise so he tied it up outside. He just lost it. He thought he was going to be told to leave.”
Why does the headline states ‘faces jail’, when the article says ‘spared jail’?
Another imported scumbag, the same should be done to him!
Slap on the wrist unlike the dog .
Sad truth is the dog will still wag his tail when he see his owner .
Learned helplessness.
The elephant and the twig .