WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT: The couple ‘brutally’ executed their Argentinian mastiff after drinking heavily, a court in Auxerre, France heard
A couple planning to start an animal breeding business drunkenly used a chainsaw to behead their Mastiff before the woman stabbed it to “avenge” their cat.
The French couple were jailed after police found the dog stabbed to death when they were called out to reports of domestic violence at the couple’s home in Levis last May. The woman told the court in Auxerre she stabbed the Argentinian mastiff after finding her partner’s cat dead, who she says the dog had killed, Le Parisien reported.
The pair, who remain unnamed, said they had wanted to euthanize the “dangerous” dog, with the man saying “decapitation was the only way he could think of” in ending his dog’s life. The man told the court that both he and his partner had been drinking heavily – a litre of vodka and two beers each – before the horrific 20-minute assault with a chainsaw unfolded.
The man was being treated for drug and alcohol use and admitted to having “finished off the dog to avenge (his) cat”. Several other cats and dogs lived in the home as the couple were planning to start a breeding business, the news outlet added.
The prosecution denounced the “barbaric act” as “unheard of brutality” and a “first for France” while the defendants’ lawyer pleaded that they were under the influence of alcohol and one had a “personality disorder”.
The man, 38, was handed 18 months in prison and the woman, 31, was sentenced to two years. It comes after an adorable dog found wandering the streets after she was a victim of a “heinous act of cruelty” has “America’s saddest face,” say social media users.
Lavender was discovered in April with wounds to her face and ears, injuries so severe one of her ears had to be intentionally cut off at a rescue centre. The pup also had fractured teeth and was also severely underweight.
But Mohawk Hudson Humane Society (MHHS), a charity in Menands, New York, has taken care of Lavender, and, when she is well enough, wants to help find her the perfect forever home. It has branded her last owner’s acts as “heinous” and “cruel” as law enforcement suspect Lavender was a victim of animal cruelty.
Authorities in Menands, which is near the city of Albany, have released fresh information – and upsetting photographs – of the brown dog in an effort to establish exact details about her history. The release was shared on social media this week, where dog lovers have expressed their anger at the previous owner – and adoration for the cute pooch. In the photographs, it is apparent Lavender had suffered injuries at the hands of the “heinous” owner.
One Facebook user said: “What a sweet little girl. So sad she has been abused and still looks so sweet!!! Fingers crossed the evil person who did this is punished. Poor baby.”