A MAN who strung his dog up by its lead before battering it has been jailed for 12 months.

Christopher Walker also admitted a violent outburst onboard a bus when he appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last Tuesday.

Walker, 33, admitted assaulting his dog, and also acting aggressively towards a bus driver after he fell into a drunken stupor on board the vehicle at Old Kilpatrick.

Emma Thomson, depute fiscal, told the court: “Around 7pm on November 12, [Walker] entered the bus and appeared to be intoxicated.

“The driver later noticed he had fallen asleep, but believed he wanted to get off at Dalmuir, so stopped the bus, and approached the accused.

“The driver noticed his dog was on the seat – which is against First Bus policy.

“He asked the accused to move the dog, and he became aggressive, saying ‘I am going to stick my head on you’.”

Ms Thomson then said the driver retreated to his cab and locked the door to stop [Walker] getting to him.

She continued: “The driver told the accused he was going to call the police, but [Walker] continued to shout and swear at him, and he punched and headbutted the glass of the cab.”

Walker then left the bus, and the driver closed the doors to keep him out.

Horrified passengers then saw him attack his dog.

Ms Thomson said: “He was walking down the middle of the road shouting and swearing. He then picked the dog up and threw it down.

“Walker was seen to pick the dog up by the lead and held it hanging by its neck.

“He then removed the lead and struck the dog numerous times on the head and body.

“At one point, the dog stopped moving and passers-by thought it was dead.”

Walker then shouted “f**k off or I’ll batter you”, to people who had stopped to see what was happening.

When police arrived on the scene, Walker continued his tirade.

Ms Thomson added: “He was clearly intoxicated, and said to police officers ‘I know where you live, I’ll kill yous’.”

Walker’s defence lawyer said: “He had drunk a lot of vodka, but knows his behaviour wasn’t acceptable.

“He should not have behaved in the way he did.

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“He has had issues with various substances over the years.”

Sheriff William Gallacher said: “Your behaviour was utterly outrageous,” and sentenced Walker to a total of 12 months in jail, and banned him from keeping animals for three years.

The court heard the dog has made a full recovery from it’s ordeal, and has now been rehomed to a loving family.