A WOMAN was handed a two-week suspended prison sentence and banned from keeping animals for five years after booting a dog in the air so hard it caused internal bleeding.

Hannah Bennett, 35, of Arras Road, Bovington, was handed the sentence by Weymouth Magistrates Court after she kicked her 13-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Mace, outside the Spar shop on Dorchester Road in Wool on May 30.

Bennett was charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and failing to protect an animal from unnecessary suffering and pleaded guilty to the charge after being caught on nearby CCTV.

Prosecuting, Mr Matthew Knight told the court Bennett had tried to take her dog into the convenience store in the afternoon, before realising dogs were not allowed in the store and she had to take Mace outside.

She then took the dog outside, and kicked him so hard he flew through the air, over a wall and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor near a car, magistrates heard.

Horrified shop staff and passers-by then rushed to confront Bennett, before she tried to drag the dog away by lifting him up in the air by his lead, causing his body to twist in the air, before attempting to dump him in a nearby shopping trolley.

Mr Knight told the court that according to eye-witnesses, Bennett told them: “It's my dog I can do what I like.”

“It doesn't matter, he is old and doesn't have any teeth.”

Eye-witnesses said they were “horrified and upset” in their statements to police, Mr Knight added.

Staff and passers-by eventually managed to take the dog away from Bennett and kept it in the shop, before phoning the police.

The dog was assessed by vets who said the kick was so hard it had caused internal bleeding and gave the dog medication.

Mr Knight said: “This is a very concerning case. She kicked the dog so hard it caused internal bleeding.

“The Spar staff and the members of the public who stepped in should be commended for their actions.”

Mr Knight also told the court that in an interview with police, Bennett admitted to the charge, saying she kicked the dog in a “fit of temper.”

She also said she couldn't remember the incident because she was too drunk and added: “If I wasn't drunk, I probably wouldn't have done it,” Mr Knight added.

Mitigating for her, Lee Christmas told the court that Bennett had kept the dog since it was a puppy and never mistreated it, but had an incident a year ago which caused her to have “some sort of a mental breakdown.”

Mr Christmas added: “She knows she is not fit to look after animals. We do not contest that and we say that will be punishment enough for her.

“She also signed the dog over to the RSPCA, so she did the right thing by her dog in the end by handing it over.”

After sentencing, chairman of the magistrates Mrs Blackwell said: “We are making this order because we feel that the offence was so serious, a custodial sentence was the only suitable option.

“We feel that it was a significant incident of violence against an innocent animal for which you had a duty of care of and it was in view of the public and it caused alarm to other people.”

The dog is now in the care of the RSPCA and is on medication for the injuries he sustained, but he is recovering.

Graham Hammond, an RSPCA Inspector, said he was pleased with the result of the court case.

Speaking after the case, he said: “I am pleased with the disqualification and the custodial sentence, it sends out a very clear message that animals need protecting, they can't look after themselves and the courts will very it seriously.

“This incident was horrific.

“It's a massive injury, and she also admitted to kicking the dog once more on a train, so we just do not know what happened to her dog out of sight of CCTV cameras.

“A dog's threshold of pain is that they feel pain in the same way that humans do and just because they do not display the symptoms of pain that we do or even have visible injuries doesn't mean they are not in pain. They will try to mask the pain they are in because that's their natural instinct.”