Man who beat dog to death gets 6 months in jail, lifetime ban on owning animals

VANCOUVER – A Vancouver man who admitted to beating his dog and leaving it for dead in a dumpster has been handed a 60-day jail sentence and a lifetime ban on owning animals.

Twenty-six-year-old Brian Whitlock will be out of custody in seven days after credit for time served and will spend three years on probation because of the assault on his two-year-old German shepherd, named Captain, last July.

In April, Whitlock pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal after his dog was found wrapped in a bloody blanket.

Animal lovers cried in the gallery during the trial and formed a group called Justice for Captain.

On Wednesday, provincial court Judge David St. Pierre scolded people who threatened Whitlock after his arrest and questioned why courtrooms are often empty when people, especially children, are victims of crime.

Whitlock’s lawyer has said his client was suffering from a mental illness and tried to kill the dog because he believed it had been poisoned or cursed but a Crown lawyer said Whitlock had exaggerated his symptoms to doctors in the past. (News1130, The Canadian Press)