Owner Leila Horvarth, 28 (pictured), and her boyfriend Norbert Farkas, 29, were found guilty of inflicting horrific violence on the dog, named Luna who had recently given birth to a litter of 12 puppies
A woman and her partner admitted to feeding her pet American Bulldog with sausages laced with anti-freeze before stabbing it to death, a court heard.
Owner Leila Horvarth, 28, and her boyfriend Norbert Farkas, 29, were found guilty of inflicting horrific violence on the dog, named Luna who had recently given birth to a litter of 12 puppies.
Wirral Magistrates’ Court heard the dog died under horrific circumstances.
The court heard Farkas struck the dog with a metal weight lifting bar in self-defence and to protect Horvarth.
Horvarth then researched how to kill a dog and lured Luna into their back garden, before feeding her the poisoned food.
Wirral Magistrates’ Court heard Horvath said she thought the dog would die quickly as a result of being poisoned.
She feared neighbours would call police when the animal clung onto life over three days and made ‘strange noises’.
She confessed to taking a kitchen knife and stabbing Luna’s throat as she lay defenceless on the ground.
The dog was then wrapped in bin bags and dumped in an alleyway behind their home in Parkside Road, Birkenhead.
RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes was contacted by environmental health officers to attend the horrific scene in alleyway, back on April 5, where he discovered Luna covered in live maggots.
Luna was struck with a metal weight lifting bar by Farkas. Horvarth feed Luna sausages laced with anti-freeze. Horvarth then used a kitchen knife to stab Luna in the throat. The dog was wrapped in bin bags and dumped in an alleyway behind their home in Birkenhead
At the time, Farkas initially claimed the dog wasn’t his, then admitted Luna was his pet, but insisted she had attacked him.
He claimed he had a panic attack and hit Luna with a metal weight lifting bar in self-defence and to protect Horvarth.
The court heard Horvath said she thought the dog would die quickly as a result of being poisoned.
Chris Murphy, prosecuting, said the couple would have been able to see the dog as it lay whimpering in the garden.
Farkas said suggested Luna became aggressive towards them after she gave birth to puppies, which led up to the attack on him.
He claimed to have suffered a panic attack after the dog attacked him and said that was why his partner decided to kill it.
RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes was contacted by environmental health officers to attend the horrific scene in alleyway, back on April 5
But a vets report found that if the dog had attacked Farkas in the way he said, he would have suffered serious injuries.
Thomas Hanlon, defending the couple, who arrived in the UK from Hungary in 2010, said Horvath took full responsibility for her actions.
Mr Hanlon said the pair had been targeted after their animals were seized by the RSPCA.
He said a petrol bomb was thrown at their home, forcing the couple to leave in the night after the attack.
District Judge Nicholas Sanders said the case was one of ‘unimaginable cruelty’.
He told the couple: ‘You struck the dog with a metal bar, and then you poisoned it with anti-freeze before stabbing it. It is hard to imagine a more cruel way of dealing with an animal.’
He sentenced them to 10 weeks in jail and banned them from keeping animals for life. They can appeal after a 10-year period.
Inspector Joynes discovered Luna’s body covered in live maggots. Speaking after the case, the RSPCA said it was ‘absolutely horrific to think what Luna went through’ and the attack was ‘unnecessary and cruel’
A male American bulldog and 12 puppies were seized from Horvath’s and Farkas’ address by police while an investigation was carried out.
Farkas and Horvarth both pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Horvarth also admitted one count of poisoning and failing to see that the dog received proper medical attention.
Speaking after the case, the RSPCA said it was ‘absolutely horrific to think what Luna went through’ and the attack was ‘unnecessary and cruel’.
A spokesman said: ‘Horvath said she had researched the cost of getting a dog euthanised and had also researched poisoning dogs and what chemical to use.
‘Over the next few days, Luna was in the garden slowly dying from poisoning until she was stabbed to death three days later.
‘It is absolutely horrific to think what Luna went through. Luna was caused suffering on multiple levels over several days, which was unnecessary and cruel.
‘Horvath and Farkas knew Luna could have been put to sleep humanely by a vet but evidence shows that she was killed in her own way over a period of several days, leaving her to suffer greatly.’