An Edinburgh man who forced two knives up his dog’s nose has been jailed for a year and banned from keeping animals for life following a Scottish SPCA investigation.
John Mackie, 44, of Clovenstone Park, was sentenced at the city’s sheriff court on Monday. Mackie was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to his eight year old Rottweiler named Sunny by cruelly beating, stabbing and killing him on 23 June 2014.
Commenting on the investigation and court case, Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn said, “In 28 years of working with the Scottish SPCA, this is one of the most heinous acts of cruelty we have dealt with.
“We received an anonymous call to our animal helpline that Sunny’s body had been dumped in bushes near Mackie’s address.
“When we questioned Mackie, he stated he had been told Sunny was hit by a bus.
“Post mortem findings established that Sunny appeared to have suffered a severe beating, with extensive haemorrhaging over his body and skull.
“Horrifyingly, two dining knives were found in Sunny’s upper airway having been forced up his nose. These knives were approximately nine inches long and were not visible from the outside as they were lodged so far up. A 44 centimetre long branch was also found in Sunny’s abdominal cavity.
“We welcome the 12 month custodial sentence given to Mackie as this sends out a strong message that abusing an animal is a criminal offence and the courts will take action.
“In addition, we are pleased Mackie has been banned from owning, keeping or taking possession or care of any animal for life.
“In our view, banning people guilty of mistreating and abusing animals can only help prevent more suffering. Bans also send an important
message that owning an animal is a privilege rather than a right.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
