June 2022 Man who beat dog until she was blind sentenced to community service A man has been handed a five-year ban on owning and keeping animals after he was found to have repeatedly abused and savagely attacked his Staffordshire bull terrier dog, Roxy, leaving her blind with severe swelling. John Haxton, 29, formerly of Murrayburn Green, Edinburgh was charged under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 and was given a 300-hour community payback order and a five-year ban on owning and keeping animals. Haxton who now resides in Dysart, Fife, first came to the attention of the Scottish SPCA in 2018 after reports had been made to its animal helpline of people having witnessed him kicking or abusing Roxy in public or hearing noises suggesting he was beating the dog inside his home.  The animal charity investigated, but at the time there was no evidence to support the reports and he was only issued warnings. However, in 2020 members of the public intervened after he was seen to be badly beating Roxy in public. Two members of the public took Roxy from Haxton and she was bleeding from the eye, had cuts across her body and her neck had significant swelling. She was very distressed and was urinating blood. The charity intervened again and inspector Fiona Thorburn met the members of the public at the vet where Roxy had been taken for emergency treatment.  The vet found numerous injuries on Roxy which suggested recent trauma including central blindness.  At that time, the vet determined that her vision would likely not return.  Roxy was required to stay at the hospital for 24 hours before she was transferred into the care of the Scottish SPCA. Further examination found that Roxy also had arthritis and a serious hip injury.  These conditions, as well as her recent injuries and blindness, were causing her immense pain and suffering and the sad decision was made to put her to sleep on welfare grounds. The post-mortem showed that there had been bleeding to Roxy’s eyes for at least two days. The bleeding is generally associated with trauma to the eye and, in this case, to both of Roxy’s eyes. Her retinae were detached at least three days before her death which supports claims that Roxy was regularly beaten by Haxton. The vet concluded that Roxy had been caused severe unnecessary suffering as a result of the beating she received on May 2, 2020 and that the injuries sustained were a result of blunt trauma to her face, head and abdomen. She would have been caused immeasurable physical and mental pain and she was left terrified and anxious of human contact.  Earlier in 2020, she had been kicked so badly that she suffered a dislocated hip. Surgery to repair the injury was booked in but not taken forward.