Couple who threw their dog into the sea 'to keep it cool' have convictions overturned

A couple who were given suspended jail terms for hurling their pet dog into the sea, won their appeal against conviction

The terrier dog called Jess was first thrown into the water from a slipway at Exmouth, Devon, by his owner Linda Jones.

A court heard the couple were photographed by an eye-witness who caught their actions in a series of pictures which showed Jess being hurled into the water and twisting in mid air before nose diving into the sea.

Lucy Jones (right) with John Nesbitt (left) successfully appealed an animal cruelty conviction at Exeter Crown Court claiming they were trying to cool down pet dog Jess

Jones, 51, and 62-year-old John Nesbitt, from Exmouth, Devon, denied a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to Jess one summer’s day last June, but were convicted after a trial in the magistrates court.

The couple claimed they were just trying to keep their pet cool.



But yesterday an appeal at Exeter Crown Court was successful and Jones will now be reunited with Jess who has been in RSPCA care for nearly a year.

Recorder Paul Dunkels QC told Jones: 'It was an utterly stupid for Linda Jones to have done. It is something she must never do to that dog or any other dog given such a chance.'

The judge said there was no evidence to say that Jess had been physically hurt after being hurled into the sea on a slipway at Exmouth, Devon.

Vet David Cooper said it was ‘probable’ the dog would have been caused some ‘fear and distress’ when Jones lifted him to her shoulder and threw the animal in several times as people looked on.

The judge said it was the manner that the dog was thrown in to the sea which was the subject of criticism.

The appeal judge said there was no evidence to say that Jess had been physically hurt after being hurled into the sea on a slipway at Exmouth, Devon

Lucy Jones (right) with John Nesbitt (left) successfully appealed an animal cruelty conviction at Exeter Crown Court and she will now be reunited with Jess who has been in RSPCA care for nearly a year

The appeal was allowed and Jones and her partner John Nesbitt, 62 - who was also cleared of the same conviction - will be reunited with their pet.

Prosecutor Clifford Howard told the first hearing at Exeter Magistrates' Court: 'Both of them accepted that the dog called Jess was thrown into the sea by them.

'However, they claimed they were cooling her down because she was hot.'

He said they denied causing the dog any suffering by their actions. Mr Howard said each of then threw the dog from the slipway.

He said beneath the water was a concrete slipway but said the couple would not know how shallow the water was at the point.

The prosecutor said the first photos showed Mr Nesbitt throwing Jess into the sea after holding her in his arms.

The second batch showed Jones holding Jess before launching her into the sea and the dog ‘hitting the water’.

Mr Howard said Jess would have been in danger of hitting the concrete base of the slipway.

Mr Clews, who took the pictures, said: 'The male picked up the dog and chucked it into the sea. It went into the sea and got back out.

'Then the woman picked it up and she chucked it in the sea. I saw the dog hit the water.'

Jones told the magistrates: 'I am so angry. I know the sea like the back of my hand. I just want my baby back.'

Jones initially told police 'she was just going in for a swim - to wetten her'.

Four year old Jess was unhurt but a vet said she could have been injured as she twisted face first into the shallow water and the base of the concrete slipway.

Jones said: 'All my dogs go into the sea. The water was clear, it was not dangerous. It was a lovely hot day in April. I would gladly do it again.

'Whoosh, she goes to the bottom and up she comes. She is 18 inches tall and shakes herself off.

'She swims out of the sea - doggy paddles. It wasn’t that shallow, the tide was coming in. I just plopped her in.'

Nesbitt said they both threw her in twice and he said Jess flew a ‘few feet’ in the air into the sea and called them ‘little dips in the sea’.

Defence lawyer Jeremy Tricks said: 'Linda Jones handling of the dog was foolish.'

But he argued that they did not cause Jess unnecessary suffering because dogs are 'resilient animals'.

The magistrates had imposed a 12 week jail term suspended for two years and a 10 year old animal ban after convicting them of causing unnecessary suffering to the black and tan terrier.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2157841/Couple-threw-dog-sea-cool-cruelty-convictions-overturned.html#ixzz1xa4Lszaz