Walter Doe jailed for cutting puppy's tail off, leaving animal in 'excruciating pain'

Doe was sentenced to three months in prison for cutting off the eight-week-old's tail

Undated handout photo issued by RSPCA of Jack, the Jack Russell, after he received treatment. 24-year-old Walter Doe has been jailed for cutting off the eight-week-old puppy's tail and leaving it to suffer "excruciating pain". (PA)

A man has been sentenced to twelve weeks imprisonment for cutting off an eight-week-old puppy’s tail using a sharp tool.

Walter Doe, 24, from Essex, was jailed after using a sharp tool to remove its tail leaving the animal in “excruciating pain”. 

The RSPCA removed the black and white puppy, called Jack, from Doe's care last July following a report of concern for the animal's welfare.

They found Jack with a bandage around his tail and in obvious pain, and said he would have been in agony when it was removed.

The puppy was taken to a vet who removed the bandage and found a very raw wound, about two inches from the tail base, with the rest of the tail removed, an RSPCA spokeswoman said.

She added: "The vet said it was a very clean-cut wound and must have been made with a sharp tool."

Doe was sentenced to three months in jail by Hastings Magistrates' Court for causing unnecessary suffering to the puppy and failing to seek veterinary treatment for his open wound.

RSPCA Inspector Andrew Kirby said: "The prison sentence reflects how seriously the court took the suffering caused to the puppy.

"We have no proof about what was used to dock Jack's tail but, whether it was a knife or a pair of scissors, he would have been in agony.

"Cutting through the bone of the tail must have been excruciatingly painful and no attempt at all was made to relieve this pain.

"Tail docking is such a brutal way to treat a young animal in any case.

"As well as the pain it causes, it is just completely unnecessary and deprives the animal of their best means of expression and balance.

"We urge people to remember that is it is against the law for a reason."

The court also ordered that Jack, who has been living in foster care while the case was ongoing, is taken from Doe on a permanent basis.

Additional reporting by PA