RSPCA: Manchester man sentenced after viral Facebook video caught him kicking and throwing dog

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A Manchester man caught on CCTV beating his Belgian Malinois has now been sentenced for causing unnecessary suffering to the dog.

Carlton James Chesney-Mitchell, 21, was last week sentenced at Manchester Magistrates’ Court for inflicting physical abuse on his dog, Annie. The RSPCA was alerted to footage of the incident after it was posted on Facebook in June last year.

The footage, from a Ring camera, showed a man in a blue hoodie and black balaclava cycling towards an open garden from a field. He then throws the bike down and can be heard shouting “come here”. A brindle dog comes into the footage and the male kicks the left side of her face with his right leg. He then entices the dog back and proceeds to kick her on the left side of her face again.

In the full video, the man, later identified to be Chesney-Mitchell, is then heard saying, “stop pi**ing me off and f***ing running off, stop it”, the RSPCA said, before striking Annie twice with his right hand and grabbing her by the neck with both hands and throwing her in the air. Annie landed on her feet, and ran out onto the field, before the man, still swearing, grabs his bike and follows her.

Inspector Deborah Beats, who investigated the case for the charity, said: “I reached out to those on social media who had information on this video and after a false start, I was able to speak to a member of the public who informed me the dog and the owner were at their house."

She then met Chesney-Mitchell at the person's address, along with his two-year-old Belgian Malinois, Annie. "After interviewing the owner, I took Annie to be checked over by a vet where thankfully it was found that she didn’t have any injuries."

The court heard from a vet, who said Annie was very nervous on examination. They said Annie would have suffered physically momentarily during the kicking, throwing and hitting episodes captured in the footage, however, the emotional impact may have a life-long effect. “This is shown with Annie’s fear behaviours such as cowering away from the person in the video before the second kick and cowering when her head was approached for examination. These fear behaviours along with being constantly shouted at would have caused her mental suffering."

The report continued: "It is likely Annie will have been in pain for several days after this incident and will have suffered at the very least mild soft tissue injuries. This will have caused discomfort when trying to walk and display normal behaviours such as playing."

From the video, they said her owner has caused unnecessary suffering to the dog on multiple accounts by inflicting pain on her. "There was no reasonable explanation for the outbursts on her visible within the video footage, as Annie was not inflicting harm on the person in question or anyone else.”

Chesney-Mitchell was disqualified from keeping dogs for two years and was ordered to carry out a 12-month community order, which includes 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He was also ordered to carry out a further 100 hours of unpaid work, to pay more than £300 in costs and charges.

A deprivation order was also imposed for Annie meaning. she can now be rehomed by the RSPCA. Inspector Beats added: “This was a shocking and completely unnecessary attack on this poor dog. I’m glad this case has concluded and Annie can now find the loving forever home she deserves.”