A man has been jailed for 26 weeks after he was filmed beating his golden Labrador with a mallet in his backyard.
Neighbours recorded Jamie Graham twice smashing the dog across the head with the weapon outside his home in South Shields.
The animal could be seen desperately cowering behind a discarded fridge in the footage before his owner strikes him two times.
The 25-year-old was handed the jail term at Newcastle Magistrates Court after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to the animal in October.
RSPCA Inspector Teri-Ann Fannon, who was sent to investigate after receiving the film, said that other family members had removed the dog – a female called Blue – from the home by the time she arrived.
But she said the suffering already inflicted would have been considerable.
In a statement released after Graham was sentenced, Inspector Fannon added: “In the video the dog is seen to be trying to avoid the male, hiding behind a large white fridge and cowering in the corner of the garden.
“The male is shown to seek out the dog and on two occasions strikes the dog on the face with what looks like a mallet or a hammer. On each impact the dog can be heard to yelp out in pain.
“In the video you can hear the male counting up and down between one and three before striking the dog again. After the second strike the camera goes out of view and the dog can be heard to continue to yelp before the male is confronted by the member of the public.”
As well as the jail sentence, Graham, of Westcott Road, South Shields, was handed a lifetime ban on keeping all animals and ordered to pay £378 during the court appearance on 1 December.
In mitigation he said he was punishing Blue for biting someone else but the court was told this was not supported by any complaint and seemed contrary to the dog’s good disposition.
Blue has since been signed over into RSPCA care and is now enjoying life in a new home.
