‘Disturbing': 21-year-old charged with allegedly beating a puppy in Newcastle
A former private school student faced court on Monday after allegedly beating a puppy that later died near Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.
Police have charged Cooper Owens, 21, with committing an act of aggravated cruelty upon an animal, and torturing, beating and seriously injuring an animal after he allegedly took a puppy out of his vehicle in a carpark in Sandgate, and began slamming it against the side of his car.
'Police were told that the assault allegedly continued before the pup was put back into the vehicle,' a police spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
Owens was arrested at a home in Port Stephens on Sunday evening, with clothing, a car seat cover, and a mobile phone seized for further examination.
The puppy's body was later found on Porowei Way, Kooragang, a bush track about 20 minutes from the carpark where the alleged abuse took place.
Owens was granted strict conditional bail on Monday with Magistrate Elizabeth Bushby describing the allegations as 'disturbing'. His bail conditions include not owning or being in possession of any animal, and seeking a mental health assessment.
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