Vancouver Island man jailed for beating puppy to death

A man from Vancouver Island has been given time in jail for beating his 16-week-old puppy to death.

Robert Carolan of Duncan was sentenced to four months in jail and has also been banned for owning animals for 10 years.

When a necropsy was done on the mixed-breed puppy, Dux, results found he had suffered blunt force trauma to his head and right rib. It also identified pneumothorax, a trauma-induced condition that prevents an animal’s lungs from fully inflating, as the probable cause of death.

Carolan originally said Dux had accidentally drowned after he placed him in a bathtub and then stepped out for a cigarette. But he could not provide an explanation for Dux’s bleeding and significant injuries. The necropsy also revealed healed fractures on three of the puppy’s ribs.

“I think jail time is absolutely warranted in a case this heinous,” said Marcie Moriarty, chief prevention and enforcement officer with the BC SPCA. “It is heartbreaking to think of how much this poor puppy suffered and the terror he would have experienced before succumbing to his injuries.”

Carolan also received a victim surcharge fine of $100 and a three-year period of probation.

The BC SPCA investigates nearly 10,000 complaints of animal cruelty and abuse each year in British Columbia.