Owner banned after dogs kill cat

Newport crown court heard that Joanne Stone saw her cat killed by the dogs

A man has been banned from owning dogs for 10 years and ordered to pay £250 compensation after his Staffordshire bull terriers killed a neighbour's cat.

Clive Dowsett, 38, let his two dogs run loose outside his home in Beddau near Pontypridd when they caught the scent of a black and white cat called Kitty.

Newport Crown Court heard the dogs chased Kitty into its owner Joanne Stone's garden before killing it.

Dowsett admitted allowing a dog to enter a public place and cause injury.

Prosecutor Ian Ibrahim said: "Ms Stone was on her way to bed just before midnight when she heard a commotion outside.

"She could hear dogs barking and a cat crying so she ran outside.

"She saw the two dogs that belonged to her neighbour chasing Kitty in the garden.

To see a much-loved pet lose its life in these circumstances is not a little thing Judge Nicholas Cook

"Ms Stone shouted at the dogs and they looked up at her while her cat tried to run away."

Ms Stone then saw the dogs kill her cat before they turned around and began baring their teeth and barking at her.

They chased her back into her house and they barked for five to 10 minutes, said Mr Ibrahim.

Ms Stone waited for the dogs to leave before she went outside to recover Kitty's body and call the police, the court heard.

Judge Nicholas Cook said: "This behaviour is not the dogs' fault - it is the fault of their owner not controlling them.

"To see a much-loved pet lose its life in these circumstances is not a little thing."

He ordered Dowsett to pay £250 compensation to Ms Stone and disqualified him from having custody of a dog for 10 years.

Judge Cook told Dowsett: "Hearing about this in the cold light of day you must realise how distressing this was for her.

"Ms Stone will probably never forget it for the rest of her life."

The court heard that both dogs have been destroyed.