Latest news with #KieranOConnor
Telegraph
06-07-2025
- Telegraph
Owner hurls his dog over a gate
A pet owner has been banned from keeping pets for five years after footage emerged that showed him throwing his elderly Staffordshire bull terrier over a gate. Kieran O'Connor, a 35-year-old self-employed gardener from Liverpool, left his pet Prince 'exposed to acute pain' after launching the dog from the pavement instead of opening the gate so it could walk in, CCTV shows. Prince can be seen in the footage falling on its side and stumbling up as O'Connor lets himself into the garden through the gate. Liverpool and Knowsley magistrates' court was told the RSPCA investigated the case after a member of the public forwarded the to the animal protection charity. O'Connor later admitted failing to meet Prince's need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease by the 'infliction of physical abuse and emotional distress' – in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. At his sentencing on July 2, he was also given a community order and ordered to pay costs of £500, along with a victim surcharge of £114. 'Looks very confused' Caren Goodman, an RSPCA inspector, told the court she went to the defendant's then address in Kirkby, Merseyside, in October last year with a colleague and a Merseyside Police officer. O'Connor refused to attend the address and, after waiting 25 minutes, the officer gained entry to the property using a search warrant, and Prince was taken into RSPCA care. She said Prince was in an 'ideal body condition', was 'bright, alert and active' and showed 'no obvious signs of distress'. When she spoke to the defendant the following day, he claimed he was 'putting his dog over the fence' because his neighbours had accused Prince of attacking their dogs. A vet at RSPCA Greater Manchester Animal Hospital, who viewed the footage, said it began with Prince being walked on a lead towards the gate by O'Connor. Her report said that 'instead of opening the gate' he was seen 'picking up the dog and forcefully throwing it over the gate. 'The dog has fallen down on its side/back' and 'looks very confused on the video, it takes a few seconds for it to get up'. 'Would not sign Prince over' The vet signed a veterinary certificate supporting Prince's removal from the house and it was given pain relief at the surgery. Although a full examination revealed that Prince had not sustained any fractures, the vet said the dog had been put through unnecessary distress and suffering. After the hearing, Inspector Goodman said: 'The most surprising thing about this case is that Kieran did not seem to understand that what he did was wrong. 'This attitude meant that he would not sign Prince over to us – even when the prosecution had run its course. 'We had to obtain an order from the court to make sure we could take him into our care and get him into a safe and secure environment.'
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
The 'cruel' dog owner hauled before courts after throwing pet over fence
This is the cruel dog owner who was caught throwing his own pet over a fence. Kieran O'Connor, 35, was caught on camera picking up his dog Prince up by the skin on his back and neck, and then hurling him over the front gate of his house. The dog, a brown male bull breed called Prince, then appeared to pick himself up off the concrete path and run around after the shocking incident. Bizarrely, O'Connor, of Parbrook Road in Huyton, then opened the gate and let himself in, the Liverpool Echo reports. READ MORE: Boy, 4, dies after gravestone falls onto him at cemetery READ MORE: 'I jumped from the wing of a Ryanair plane as crews screamed brace' O'Connor's actions were shared widely on social media after the CCTV footage was posted. Now, following the completion of criminal proceedings against him, the ECHO can now confirm his identity and that he is the one responsible for the cruel actions. O'Connor appeared at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on Wednesday (July 2) to be sentenced after he was charged under the Animal Welfare Act in a case brought by the RSPCA. He entered a guilty plea in relation to the incident at an earlier hearing on May 15. A charge sheet says O'Connor "failed to meet the need to protect his dog from pain, suffering, injury and disease by the infliction of physical abuse and emotional distress" during the incident on October 1 last year. He received a community order which involves 26 programme requirement days and was ordered to pay costs of £500 and a victim surcharge of £114. He was also banned from owning, keeping or dealing with animals for five years under section 34 of the same act. RSPCA inspector Caren Goodman-James said afterwards: "The most surprising thing about this case is that Kieran did not seem to understand that what he did was wrong. "This attitude meant that he would not sign Prince over to us - even when the prosecution had run its course. "We had to obtain an order from the court to make sure we could take him into our care and get him into a safe and secure environment. "Every animal has the right to be treated with kindness and respect. Nobody should be cruel or neglectful towards any animal and the kind of violence we saw here is absolutely unacceptable. "Thankfully we were able to rescue Prince and he is now doing very well in our care." She added: "I would also like to thank the kind member of the public who reported this attack to us. Without their intervention and without the video evidence they allowed us to use, this prosecution would have been more difficult. "It shows that people don't accept that animals can be treated in this way and also how helpful it is when those who witness cruelty can somehow provide footage to help us rescue animals in danger."
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Moment gardener grabs his elderly dog and throws him over gate onto concrete path
A shocking video shows the moment an owner grabs his elderly Staffordshire bull terrier and throws him over a gate and onto a concrete path. Kieran O'Connor, 35, has now been banned from keeping pets for five years after he exposed his dog Prince to 'acute pain'. CCTV footage shows the self-employed gardener launching his ageing pet from the pavement instead over opening the gate for him to walk in. Prince, from Liverpool, can be seen in the footage falling on his side and stumbling as O'Connor strolls through the gate into his garden. A court heard the RSPCA began investigating the case after a worried member of the public sent the video to them. At Liverpool and Knowsley Magistrates' Court, O'Connor admitted to failing to meet Prince's needs to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease by the 'infliction of physical abuse and emotional distress' - in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. He was given a community order which involves 26 programme requirement days and ordered to pay costs of £500 and a victim surcharge of £114. At a sentencing hearing on July 2, RSPCA Inspector Caren Goodman said in a statement to the court that she went to the defendant's then address in Kirkby, Merseyside, in October last year. Accompanied by a colleague and a Merseyside Police officer, she got no answer by knocking the door, but could see Prince through a window, sitting on the front room sofa. The police officer who was with her called the defendant's number - which was advertised on his trailer parked outside - but he refused to attend the address. After waiting 25 minutes, the officer gained entry to the property using a search warrant, and Prince was taken into RSPCA care. She said Prince had 'ideal body condition', was 'bright, alert and active' and showed 'no obvious signs of distress'. When she spoke to the defendant the following day, he claimed he was 'putting his dog over the fence' because his neighbours had accused Prince of attacking their dogs. A vet at RSPCA Greater Manchester Animal Hospital who viewed the footage, said it began with Prince being walked on a lead towards a gate by a man. Her report added that 'instead of opening the gate' he was seen 'picking up the dog and forcefully throwing it on the other side of the gate. 'The dog has fallen down on its side/back' and 'looks very confused on the video, it takes a few seconds for it to get up.' The vet signed a Veterinary Certificate supporting Prince's removal from the house and at the surgery, he was given pain relief. Although a full examination revealed that he had not sustained any fractures, the vet said he had been put through unnecessary distress and suffering. After the hearing, Inspector Goodman said: 'The most surprising thing about this case is that Kieran did not seem to understand that what he did was wrong. 'This attitude meant that he would not sign Prince over to us - even when the prosecution had run its course. 'We had to obtain an order from the court to make sure we could take him into our care and get him into a safe and secure environment. 'Every animal has the right to be treated with kindness and respect. 'Nobody should be cruel or neglectful towards any animal and the kind of violence we saw here is absolutely unacceptable. 'I would also like to thank the kind member of the public who reported this attack to us. 'Without their intervention and without the video evidence they allowed us to use, this prosecution would have been more difficult.
