The sentencing hearing for Brian Whitlock, the man who pleaded guilty to beating his German shepherd and leaving it for dead in a Vancouver dumpster began on Tuesday.
The court heard that Whitlock told police he hit Captain three or four times with a baseball bat, the Vancouver Sun reported.
He also told police that he was scared of the dog and had locked it it a room, before hitting it — believing he had killed Captain as humanely as possible, CBC reported.
Whitlock was going through a tense marital separation that included conflict over visitation rights to his toddler when he bought Captain just a few months before the incident, CBC said.
Crown is recommending a four to six month jail sentence, News 1130 reported.
Animal activists wearing shirts saying “For the Love of Captain” arrived at court early on Tuesday morning, planning to observe the proceedings, CTV said.
“No animal should ever suffer that sort of treatment. And it happened in our own backyard which makes it hit closer to home,” one protester told CTV News.
Captain was found wrapped in a bloody blanket in a Kitsilano dumpster last July and later died of his injuries.
The sentencing hearing continues.
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