Man who punched own puppy jailed for two months

A Logan man has been jailed for punching a puppy in the head and breaking its leg during a fit of rage.

A Logan man has been jailed for punching a puppy in the head and breaking its leg during a fit of rage.

Alex Christopher Gilbert, 25, pleaded guilty today to punching his three-month-old Siberian husky named Chase at a Marsden property on December 20, 2017.

The court was told that the father of four claimed the puppy had bitten him, so he punched it and threw it 10 metres through the air, breaking its leg.

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He admitted the assault when RSPCA inspectors arrived to check on the dog, telling them: “The f***en thing bit me so I punched it in the f***en mouth”.

Chase made a full recovery and has now been rehomed.

Gilbert also pleaded guilty to doing burnouts in a Browns Plains street in August last year, causing more than $2000 worth of damage to the road, as well as charges of public nuisance charge and obstructing a police officer.

He pleaded guilty to all five charges when he faced Beenleigh Magistrates Court today.

Gilbert’s lawyer Katherine Hanson of Gilmore Lawyers told the court her client was “extremely remorseful” and had punched the puppy because it had bitten his child and his own finger.

She argued that the other charges were a result of a neighbourhood dispute over the noise of Gilbert’s car.

Alex Gilbert admitted he made a big mistake and was remorseful.

“The victims have complained constantly about the sound of my client’s car, even when he was just driving to and from work,” Ms Hanson said.

Gilbert had “snapped” and done the burnout after multiple incidents of harassment from neighbours.

“He certainly admits he made a huge mistake and his mistake now has effects … for his partner and children,” she said.

Alex Gilbert will spend two months behind bars.

Magistrate Don MacKenzie said because Gilbert had breached a suspended sentence and had a “full page of criminal history littered with offences” he had been left with no option but to impose a two-month jail term and a 12-month probation period.

“He is clearly a man that has a problem with his anger,” Mr MacKenzie said.

“Even on his version of events, he does not have the ability to control himself when there are stresses …”

On the charges of animal cruelty, Mr MacKenzie said hitting something so vulnerable as a puppy was “reprehensible.”

He ordered Mr Gilbert pay $3000 in legal fees and animal treatment costs to the RSPCA and banned him from owning an animal until 2024.

RSPCA prosecutions officer Tracey Jackson said it was a “perfect outcome” that would send a clear message about abhorrence of violence to animals.

“I think the magistrate pretty much nailed it in this case,” she said.

“This was a little puppy and I can’t imagine circumstances where it would be okay to punch a puppy in the face and throw it metres across the ground.

“It’s only a testament to the puppy’s own character that it was able to be rehabilitated.”