Face of Nation : Melvyn Hall, 71, attacked his pet German Shepherd, also strangling her with a washing line and dumping her body in a river in December.
The RSPCA told a court hearing that Hall had been annoyed by his pet, named Molly, because she had been “following him”.
Molly’s body was found in the River Tyne with the washing line wrapped around her neck and Hall, of Wallsend, was identified as her owner through the dog’s microchip.
Discussing the first contact with Hall after Molly’s body was found, RSPCA inspector Rowena Proctor said: “When the rescue called Hall he told them that Molly had died of a ruptured aneurysm and had been seen by a local vet, but he couldn’t remember the name, which he initially reiterated when I visited him the next day.
“However, in the interview that followed he said he had gone to the shop and come home to find her dead, before going on to admit hitting Molly on the head with a hammer, strangling her with the washing line that was around her neck when her body was found, and dumping her in the River Tyne.
“He said he did it because she was following him around and getting on his nerves and he lashed out. He showed me where he had done it, in his garden shed, and gave me the hammer he had used.”
The RSPCA said Hall, a former NHS worker, admitted two counts of causing unnecessary suffering under the Animal Welfare Act.
He was handed an 18-week prison sentence which was suspended for a year.
He was also banned from owning all animals, aside from goldfish, and ordered to pay £1,000 in court costs.
Ms Proctor added: “The vet said that the attack on Molly from the person who cared for her would have caused immediate distress, which would have quickly passed into suffering when she received the blow from the hammer.
“They went on to say that the presence of the washing line and injuries to her neck, which were consistent with having been strangled, indicate that the owner was uncertain of the state of consciousness of Molly after she had been hit with the hammer.”
