Chippie drunk yanked injured dog's collar

A father took a badly injured dog into a Black Country chip shop and drunkenly kept tugging at its lead as it stood shaking in pain, a court heard.

The two-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier had been bitten in an organised fight and needed urgent treatment, Dudley magistrates were told. Blood was dripping down its collar and face from bite wounds.

Martin Glear, aged 25, spat at and threatened two police officers after they were called to the Highview chip shop in Kates Hill.

The court heard that Glear "yanked" the dog's collar a number of times and was told to stop by other customers.

Mr David Truelove, prosecuting, said: "The dog was obviously in a lot of pain and had substantial injuries."

As it was not chipped, the dog's original owners could not be traced.

Glear, of Hall Church Road, Dudley, had drunk eight cans of "super-strength" lager and was "totally incoherent" when he was arrested at about 7pm, Mr Truelove added.

The unemployed father-of-one claimed that he had been given the dog by a stranger 20 minutes earlier.

Miss Sabhia Pathan, defending, said Glear had seen two men with injured dogs in Hall Street and wanted to give the animal as a present to his two-year-old daughter.

"He admits in hindsight that they were trying to get rid of them as they had likely been in an organised fight," she said.

Glear yesterday pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and being drunk and disorderly and two counts of assaulting a police officer.

He was banned from keeping dogs for two years, given a 12-month community order and told to complete 50 hours' unpaid work. He must also pay £160 costs.