Kent man who caused horrific burns to a pug puppy gets suspended sentence

A man who injured a pug puppy by causing horrific burns to the animal has been handed a suspended jail sentence.

Thabiso Luzuko Giyo from Chatham, Kent, appeared at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on 1 May and pleaded guilty to offences under the Animal Welfare Act.

Giyo was sentenced to 22 weeks in prison, suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to pay £800 in costs and a £154 victim surcharge, and was disqualified from keeping any animals for three years.

Capri the pug was first brought in to a vet by her owner with a large swelling to the head believed to have been caused by a trauma.

In a witness statement the vet said Capri was "really calm and relaxed around females but shrank away and trembled in the presence of a male vet".

Capri was brought in again in December, where she was in “quite a state”.

She had burns over her face and neck and her tongue was swollen to three times its size.

An investigation was launched by the RSPCA and in a statement to the court, the inspector Kirsten Ormerod said: "Capri’s owner told me that on 12 December she left Capri in the care of her flatmate, called Thabiso Giyo, between approximately 2.30pm to 6.30pm while she went out shopping.

“She stated that on her return at 6.30pm Capri had a sore face. She stated Giyo had wiped Capri’s face with an exfoliating glove but quite quickly Capri’s face started to swell and she was struggling to breathe so she took Capri to the emergency vet.

"She had red, open wounds to her face, nose and around her mouth. Her tongue appeared very swollen and she was not able to close her mouth due to her swollen tongue.

"She was also audibly breathing loudly and appeared lame on her back right leg and was very reluctant to put weight on it."The vet’s witness statement added: “Nobody was willing to tell us what substance Capri had been burned with - the flatmate said he gave her a bath and used an exfoliating glove on her which didn't add up to the severity of the injuries she presented with.

“While she was under anaesthetic for an endoscopy, she was also x-rayed. The x-rays showed a fracture of the right [leg]. The x-rays also showed healed pelvic fractures from older injuries.”

Capri's owner told Inspector Ormerod that she had reported the incident to police and had asked Giyo to leave the property but gave her a contact number for him.

Two weeks after she was first admitted, Capri began eating on her own and her injuries started to improve.

In January 2023, she had surgery for her leg fracture and was moved to an RSPCA rehoming centre to recover.

Since then, Capri made a full recovery after suffering severe burns from boiling water to her face, mouth and tongue.

The RSPCA says Capri is now enjoying life in a loving new home after being adopted by one of the vet nurses who first treated her injuries and helped to save her life.

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