A YouTuber who trained his girlfriend's dog to give Nazi salutes and was convicted of hate crime has had his appeal rejected by the Supreme Court.
Markus Meechan, 32, who uses the nickname Count Dankula, was prosecuted after teaching the dog, a pug named Buddha, to perform the offensive gesture.
He was convicted of a hate crime in communicating a video which was "grossly offensive" after denying the charge at a trial at Airdrie Sheriff Court.
In April 2018 Meechan was given a fine of £800 and was told to pay it within six months, but he publicly stated he would refuse to do so.
Meechan, of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, taught the pug to react to the words "gas the Jews" and filmed it for his YouTube channel in 2017, supposedly to annoy his girlfriend.
The dog was also seen raising a paw to fascist chant "Sieg Heil" during the footage called "M8 Yur Dug's a Nazi" which was viewed more than three million times.
The case created a debate around freedom of speech, with comedians such as Ricky Gervais speaking out on Meechan's behalf.
Far-right leader Tommy Robinson attended the trial in support.
About £195,657 was raised on a GoFundMe page to take the appeal to the Supreme Court, which rejected it saying it had "no merit", according to Meehan.
The man, who has since married his girlfriend, is now considering taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
He wrote: "As some of you may be aware, we petitioned to the UK Supreme Court to hear our case, a process that took very many months to hear back from and sadly we have received news back that they have refused to hear the case.
"The reason they cited is that my appeal "had no merit" but as of yet, they have provided no information as to specifically why this is.
"After this step we have one final option, the European Court Of Human Rights.
"One hundred per cent of the remaining funds that are left over after legal fees have been paid WILL be donated to charity, I refuse to shift on that stance.
"Ideally I would like to see the funds go to a children's hospital."
