St Ninians man jailed after battering dog to death in golf club attack

Romanian Shepherd Griffin was the subject of the brutal attack which saw Thurling jailed
-Credit:Central Scotland News Agency


A man who beat his dog with a golf club so badly that it had to be put down has been jailed.

Terry Thurling battered his Romanian Shepherd dog, Griffin, with the makeshift weapon - because he could not cope with its “challenging behaviour”, a court heard.

A neighbour and a nurse at a nearby medical practice contacted the SSPCA and council dog wardens and Thurling, 43, was charged.

Stirling Sheriff Court was told that on April 24 last year the neighbour reported seeing through the windows of Thurling’s flat in Stirling’s St Ninians area that the dog was “running from room to room”.

Thurling appeared to be striking it with something.

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The neighbour then heard Griffin “crying for 20 minutes”.

Around the same time, the nurse heard the dog in distress and phoned the SSPCA.

Stirling Council then received a call from Thurling who said he wanted Griffin put down, alleging the animal had bitten him.

Dog wardens attended and Thurling admitted he had hit Griffin with a golf club. Wardens saw the golf club in the hallway “bent out of shape”.

Griffin, whose head was covered in blood, was described as “quiet”, and was showing no signs of aggression, according to the dog wardens.

He was taken to Broadleys Veterinary Hospital in Stirling where an X-ray found depressed fractures in his skull, and he had to be euthanised.

The court was told that an examination also found a lesion on his back consistent with a cigarette burn, though this did not figure in the charge against Thurling.

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Thurling, an unemployed chef, of Cornhill Crescent, St Ninians, pleaded guilty to causing Griffin unnecessary suffering.

He also appeared for sentence on a series of unrelated charges, including resisting police, assaulting a retail worker, and committing a statutory breach of the peace at a hospital.

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Solicitor Fraser McCready, defending, said Thurling had owned Griffin for 10 months.

Mr McCready said: “It’s quite clear he should never have taken on this dog. He wasn’t the original owner and from my instructions it’s quite clear that the dog had challenging behaviour and Mr Thurling wasn’t up to dealing with that behaviour.

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“At some stage, having been bitten, he hit the dog with a golf club.”

Mr McCready said Thurling had been furloughed during the coronavirus pandemic and had not returned to work since.

He said he had ongoing undiagnosed mental heath difficulties.

The case was heard at Stirling Sheriff Court
The case was heard at Stirling Sheriff Court -Credit:Stirling Sheriff Court

Sheriff Keith O’Mahony said the incident had been “an assault on the dog”.

He banned Thurling from owning or keeping a dog for 15 years, and jailed him for a total of 19 months.

Thurling showed no emotion as he was handcuffed to a security guard and led away to the cells.

Speaking afterwards, an SSPCA inspector said in a statement that Thurling “should never be allowed to own animals again”

They said: “On that day Thurling phoned the dog wardens to tell them he had hit his dog and demanded they take the dog away.

“When the dog wardens arrived, they found the dog with blood all over his head.

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“They contacted us and we arranged to meet them at a local vet as soon as possible.

“He had a swollen head and eyes, with the third eyelid coming across the eye on the right-hand side, there was blood on the top of the head and lumps on his back.

“The dog appeared in reasonable body condition other than the injuries and was calm and docile.

“The dog who was quiet but responsive and showed no signs of aggression during the handling procedure.

“There was fresh blood over the skull and bridge of his nose and covering his muzzle.

“There was extensive painful swelling over the top of his skull.

“The vet concluded that the dog was hit over the top of the head at least six times with enough force to fracture its skull – he had obviously been subjected to unnecessary suffering.

“A decision was made for the dog to be euthanised on welfare grounds due to the extent of his injuries. We are pleased at the sentencing. Griffin had suffered extensively both physically and mentally at the hands of Thurling and this man should never be allowed to own animals again.”