Gosport pensioner found guilty of sexually abusing his dog after neighbour catches him in the act through gap in the curtains

Terence Bennett, 67, was arrested after the passer-by was alerted to 'sickening' cries of pain from the canine in October 2021, a court heard. The 'anxious' Staffordshire bull-terrier and rottweiler cross called Ali was revealed to have suffered injuries and was given to the RSPCA.

Bennett denied doing anything with the dog claiming he had been 'brushing' the animal. He said that the injuries had been caused by bones the pet had been eating. However, he was found guilty of one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

Portsmouth Magistrates' Court heard Bennett had owned the nine year old dog for somewhere between five and eight years. Opening the case, prosecutor Laura Jenking-Rees said that in October 2021 Kelly Nelson was walking home from the shops with food for her children in Gosport when she heard the 'sickening' sound of an animal in pain.

She said: "On Wednesday, October 28, 2021 at 7:34pm [she] was walking home from the shops when she heard a loud, distressed animal. She describes it as horrible and sickening, it sounded as if the animal was in pain. The noise was coming from Mr Bennett's house, [she] went to investigate and looked into a window."

Ms Jenking-Rees then described what the neighbour could see when she looked into Mr Bennett's home. She continued: "[Ms Nelson] watched for a few seconds, she described what she witnessed as 'sickening to watch'.

"She went home and spoke to a neighbour who advised her to report it to the RSPCA, they told her to call the police. The defendant was arrested and his dog was seized, the RSPCA officer described Ali as very nervous and anxious and as being one of the fattest dogs she had ever seen.

"The defendant was interviewed under caution, he denied all the allegations, attributing it to a grudge his neighbours had. There are a number of aspects to this offence that show unnecessary suffering has been caused when the court considers the eye witness and veterinary evidence."

Ms Nelson, who lives a few streets away, told the court it was 'obvious' to her what Mr Bennett was doing and that Ali's cries were 'chilling'.

The neighbour said: "I heard an animal in pain, it wasn't normal, I have got a dog and if I was to here a cry like that I would be straight outside. It was chilling, an awful noise."

When asked by Ms Jenking-Rees what she could see, Ms Nelson said: "It was obvious what he was doing, put it that way."

In his defence, Mr Bennett insisted he would never have sex with his dog and that the rear injuries may have been caused by her eating bones.

He said: "I swear on my mother's life, I would not do that sort of thing. I certainly was not doing that, I was brushing her maybe. I think it is disgusting. I swear the injuries were not by me, she has been eating a lot of bones."

He also claimed that Ali was an anxious dog because she had been bitten by a previous owner. Mr Bennett was found guilty by District Judge David Robinson who said it was a 'serious offence'. The pensioner will be sentenced in June.

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