Two men who sickeningly abused their dogs by a 'painful' ear-cropping procedure exchanged messages about their plans. Joshua Ryan Kwiathawski, 25, and Jamie Evans, 30, were found guilty of allowing the illegal practice to be done.
Their bull-type dogs Riga and Ace were subjected to 'horrific' pain before police discovered texts between the two men who planned to cover up what had been done to the pets. They also did not care for the animals after the procedure, reports the Manchester Evening News.
In a series of messages exchanged on Whatsapp, Evans asked when he could 'post a pic' of his dog with Kwiathawski replying: “Not for 4-6 weeks bro, no one in your gaff you don’t know," Wigan Magistrates Court heard as the men were sentenced on Tuesday.
The court heard how Evans then asked: “What do you mean mate”, and Kwiathawski replied: “Don’t have anyone in your house or seeing the dog you don’t know, if they see fresh wounds they could report you.
“Only post on your private snapchat mate people who you trust and if anyone asks obvs the dog's imported.”
Animal welfare charity RSPCA became aware after police seized Kwiathawski’s phone in an unrelated offence, which contained photos of his dog, Ace, with cropped ears. Two warrants were carried about by the charity and police and a second mobile device was seized.
It contained distressing messages between the two men, with photos before and after the procedures on the phones. The court also heard that Kwiathawski advised Evans to put talc on the dog's ears, with one voice message saying: "Once you've took the scabs off and talced his ears he will look exactly like Ace does on that picture where his ears are dead white and they are up tall and you can hardly see any scabs. It just looks like loads of talc on the outsides of his ears. That’s what it will look like bro.”
Evans replied saying: “Sure he’s took this crop too far back on him.” Both were handed a 23-week prison sentence and were banned from keeping animals for 15 years.
Speaking after sentencing, RSPCA inspector Emma Dingley said: “Ear cropping is a horrific practice which has absolutely no benefits for the dogs and can cause them lifelong health, behavioural and social problems.
“This is done purely for cosmetic purposes and sadly can lead to puppies being sold for much more money - but we’d urge the public and anyone looking to buy a puppy to remember that this is an illegal procedure which has hugely negative impacts for the dogs themselves.”
The dogs are now in the care of the RSPCA.
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