Liverpool couple who poisoned dog with raisins sentenced

A couple who repeatedly beat and poisoned their dog with raisins before dumping the body in a suitcase have been sentenced.

Christy Carl Hewitt and Chantell Duvall-Gregory killed their pet with the repeated attacks in Liverpool before discarding it by a river.

Raisins, which are toxic to dogs, were found in the dog's stomach.

Hewitt was jailed for 22 weeks, while Duvall-Gregory was jailed for 22 weeks, suspended for 18 months.

The pair, aged 22 and 20, were also banned for owning any animal for 10 years by magistrates in Sefton.

The court heard how the pair would inflict punishments on the three-year-old dog, named Snoop, if he made "toileting mistakes".

An eyewitness said in a statement that when Snoop annoyed the couple, he would be taken into a bedroom by one or other of them and stood on repeatedly.

Hewitt was said to have pinned the dog by his neck to a chair and then punched him in the head because he had chewed one of his slippers.

The witness also claimed Hewitt hit Snoop with a spoon with such force that it broke.

A vet's report concluded the dog had not been provided with a suitable diet and died from gastroenteritis as "a consequence of raisin poisoning".

Raisins, grapes, currants and sultanas can cause kidney failure to dogs.

It was found Snoop had been repeatedly subjected to "significant blunt force trauma" over a prolonged period of time.

A member of the public found the body dumped in a suitcase along the River Mersey, under rocks at the Speke and Garston Coastal Reserve on 11 January 2021, the court heard.

The name Chantell was written on the side of the suitcase and RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes said Duvall-Gregory contacted the charity after a press appeal, which included images of the case.

The pair claimed Snoop would not eat dog food and Duvall-Gregory said she had fed it granola, but believed she had removed all the raisins.

Hewitt, of Parkfield Road, Aigburth, and Duvall-Gregory, of no fixed address, both pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal by inflicting blunt force trauma, physical violence and abusive behaviour.

They also admitted charges of failing to meet the dog's needs.

Mr Joynes said: "Snoop was systematically beaten by these two defendants and the way they abused him is summed up in the callous manner in which they disposed of his body afterwards."

Magistrates also ordered Duvall-Gregory to complete 20 rehabilitation activity days as part of her sentence.

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