A Delegate man has been sentenced to 200 hours of community service for committing an act of aggravated cruelty on a dog in July 2015.
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Mark Robert Bruce, 61, of Bombala Street, Delegate, was sentenced by Magistrate Doug Dick in Bombala Local Court on Tuesday, October 4.
Court documents said that ‘Tiny’, a three-year-old blue heeler, was the family pet of Douglas Thompson who lived in the same street as Bruce.
Bruce denied shooting Tiny but admitted hitting the dog in the head with a shovel.
The incident occurred sometime between 7.30pm and 9.32pm on July 3, 2015, in Delegate.
According to the court documents Mr Thompson and Renae Stuart, who also lived across the road from Bruce, were at the Delegate Hotel having dinner on the night of the incident.
Ms Stuart took a call from a mobile phone belonging to Bruce. The caller told her: “Come and get your f…..g dog before I shoot it”.
She explained to the caller that she did not own a dog and that it probably belonged to the Thompsons.
The caller then spoke to Mr Thompson and repeated the threat to him, using the same words.
Later that night, Tiny was found gasping for air on the road.
Tiny was placed in the back of a vehicle and taken home but died.
When Mr Thompson picked up Tiny and checked to see if he had been hit by a car he found a small hole in the dog’s abdomen.
A trail of blood was found between Bruce’s home and the spot where Tiny was located.
An autopsy by a vet concluded that the dog had died as a result of internal haemorrhaging from being shot by a projectile.
Firearms belonging to Bruce were seized and the bullet was sent to ballistics; while there were similar characteristics, the result was inconclusive.
Also listed at Bombala court last week was Basil John Garbutt who faced 17 firearm charges, including possession of unauthorised and unregistered firearms. The matter was adjourned.