SPCA 'glad' for 4-month prison sentence in puppy death

A Vancouver Island man has been sentenced to four months in jail for fatally beating a four-month-old puppy.

Robert Carolanof Duncanis also banned from owning animals for 10 years after being found guilty on Jan. 11.

The SPCA says a necropsy shows the mixed-breed puppynamed Duxsuffered blunt force trauma to its head and right rib and probably died becausethe rib injury prevented it from fully inflating its lungs.

Marcie Moriarty, the chief prevention and enforcement officer with the B.C.SPCA, said Mondayshe was "glad" the puppy's owner received a jail sentence, but he probably should have received a longer one.

"This is a statement that in British Columbia, if not elsewhere across Canada, we are actually seeing jail for individuals who intentionally harm their animals,"

Carolan claimed that the puppy had accidentally drowned in the bathtub when he stepped out for a cigarette.

Moriarty said SPCA officials arestarting to see the courts giving more jail time in animal cruelty cases, with sentences of up to two years.

The strong punishment is particularly appropriate not just because of the harm to the animals, she said. "There is a link between violence against animals and other types of violence."

In addition to his jail time Carolan facesthree years probation.

With files from Sarah Towle.