'XL Bully' suffers horror injuries after being dragged behind owner's scooter

22 December 2023 , 21:08

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Luna being pulled along behind owner on an electric scooter (Image: RSPCA SWNS)

A dog has suffered horrific injuries after its cruel owner dragged it behind as he rode an electric scooter.

Ten-month-old Luna was assaulted and neglected by her owner Lucas Slim-Fitzpatrick who will now spend almost two years in jail. Slim-Fitzpatrick was caught on a doorbell camera dragging his dog along whilst riding on an electric scooter, leaving the pooch with serious injuries.

He declined to give the dog the medical treatment it desperately needed and lied to police, when confronted about his horrific actions. The RSPCA prosecuted the cruel owner who subjected Luna to the horrific treatment between June and December 2022. A vet who examined Luna said the dog had suffered blunt force trauma injuries in at least three separate incidents, PlymouthLive reported.

Slim-Fitzpatrick will now spend 19 months in jail after he was captured riding through Weston-super-Mare holding onto Luna’s lead. The dog desperately tried to follow behind but couldn’t keep up. A witness who contacted the police said he heard an animal in distress at the back of Slim-Fitzpatrick's former address in Greenbank Road in Plymouth minutes later, the RSPCA said.

The court was told the witness saw Slim-Fitzpatrick "staggering around" on the scooter while talking aggressively to the dog before picking her up with both hands and throwing her six feet in the direction of a wall. He was later arrested.

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When he was interviewed by police in December 2022, the defendant lied and claimed Luna's injuries - a broken left hip and pelvis, fractured jaw, cheekbone and wrists, three broken ribs, three broken teeth and a bloodshot eye - were caused by Luna being hit by a car and kicked by a horse. He said her bloodshot eye was the result of her being attacked by a Jack Russell dog.

But RSPCA prosecutor Gregory Gordon told the court: "Expert veterinary evidence disproved the defendant's various claims of accidental injury to Luna. For example, if she had been struck by a vehicle, there would have been evidence of skin abrasions or lacerations, and grit or oil in her hair.

Luna was assaulted and neglected by her owner Lucas Slim-Fitzpatrick who will now spend almost two years in jail (RSPCA SWNS)

"Radiographs indicated Luna's different fractures were at different stages of healing, meaning that the injuries occurred on different dates. It has not been possible to identify the number of separate incidents from the injuries alone, but records indicate that injuries were sustained by Luna on at least three separate occasions, including June 29 and August 2 last year."

On both of these dates, the defendant had been in contact with vets. However, in June he declined the vet's recommendation that Luna undergo surgery for wrist fractures, citing the cost. He then failed to attend appointments to rebandage her wounds, instead using a pencil and sock as a homemade splint. In August he phoned the vet to report Luna was eating painfully, but then failed to keep an appointment.

When RSPCA Inspector Miranda Albison attempted to make contact with the defendant in March and July this year to interview him about the allegations, he claimed he did not have a fixed address, but that he was staying with a friend in Birmingham.

An X-ray of some of Luna's injuries (RSPCA SWNS)

In a statement read to the court, the inspector said: "The defendant said he was aware the RSPCA had been visiting his address, but that he was not prepared to be interviewed. I told him Luna was still in our care as he had not responded to my request to confirm we could rehome her. He became angry and said he thought he had already given permission and the dog was no longer anything to do with him."

In mitigation, the court was told Slim-Fitzpatrick had experienced a troubled background and had spent time in the care system. He pleaded guilty to three offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 at an earlier hearing on September 18 and was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on December 7.

A judge said he had shown little remorse for his actions and told him: "This was prolonged, lengthy violence towards an animal in your care who should have been protected by you rather than becoming your punchbag."

The innocent ten-month-old pup was treated horrifically by her cruel and callous owner (RSPCA SWNS)

He handed Slim-Fitzpatrick 14-month custodial sentences to run concurrently on each of the three animal welfare offences and a further five-month prison sentence, to be served consecutively, for his breach of a suspended sentence imposed for an unrelated matter. The judge also banned the defendant from owning animals for 20 years.

Luna was signed into the care of the RSPCA on July 5 this year and the charity says she has recovered from her 'horrific' ordeal in their care. She has been rehomed after undergoing surgery and extensive rehabilitation work to regain the use of her back leg.

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Speaking after the sentencing, Inspector Albison said: "The assaults carried out by this defendant on this poor dog started when she was a 10-week old puppy and continued until she was 10 months old. It was absolutely horrific as she was repeatedly beaten and suffered many fractures."

"Luna had surgery on her femoral head and that saved her back leg as the other option was amputation. Happily she is now doing very well and we have been able to rehome her. Without being provided with the Ring Doorbell footage by a member of the public we wouldn't have been able to prosecute the defendant as he denied being in that area of Plymouth at the time of the assault allegation."

Shannon Brown