A brutal thug who cruelly ill-treated his Staffordshire bull terrier in the street, has been jailed and banned from keeping any more pets after admitting the offence in court.
Sam Andrews was seen to repeatedly pull the dog backwards on the lead and strike it with the chain lead several times, causing it to cower and shake.
He continually struck it on the head and body with his hand and forced the animal to the ground with his foot placed firmly on its back, attempting to make it become more submissive, then lit a cigarette lighter and flashed it close to the dog's head.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard how the 26-year-old's shocking actions were all captured on CCTV.
Police were informed and he was traced and arrested. SSPCA inspectors pounced and took possession of the dog and on examination it was found to be underweight. It is still being cared for at a facility staffed by the animal welfare organisation's volunteers.
In court, Andrews, of Waulkmill Avenue, Barrhead, pleaded guilty to causing the dog unnecessary suffering by his actions in the town's Glasgow Road, on August 12, 2013.
The court was told that the accused was seen to be dragging the dog, called "Scooby" backwards along the street by the lead attached to its neck.
He then set about the animal as outlined.
Depute fiscal Alastair Mitchell said that after viewing damning footage, officials of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said that it was clear the animal was particularly subservient and was seen at one point to be between its owner's legs.
He said: "This is viewed as an aggravating factor as advantage was taken of the dog's loyalty."
The fiscal said that during the episode, Andrews "sparked a cigarette lighter" and held it close to the dog's face, forcing it to turn its head away due to the heat, then repeated the action by holding the lighter in his other hand.
He repeated the behaviour on a second occasion.
Defence agent Michael McKeown said that his client had expressed remorse but could provide no reasonable explanation or excuse
The Crown sought a banning order and after Sheriff David Pender viewed the CCTV footage and told him"words cannot adequately describe your treatment of the dog, which was clearly affectionate."
After studying background reports which had been prepared, the Sheriff ordered the dog to be re-homed by the SSPCA and banned him from keeping or owning any animal for a period of ten years.
He hit out: "The dog wasn't misbehaving, it was looking for affection and it was treated in this way."
Jailing Andrews for six months, the Sheriff said that due to the serious nature of the offence, imprisonment could not be avoided.
