A dog was left bleeding to death after being swung like an axe against a car and hurled into a wall by his ‘animal loving’ owner.

Terrified neighbours called 999 after hearing an animal squealing in pain as Nicholas Curran flung his Jack Russell through the air, hitting a house nearby and repeatedly slammed the pet against the pavement.

Shocked police discovered the father-of-four standing in the road in his vest and slippers at 2am – covered in blood as his fatally wounded dog lay ‘dazed’ nearby.

The family pet, named Sammy, died hours later after suffering a heart attack from serious injuries including a ruptured liver and numerous fractures to his small body.

The 43-year-old was jailed for 22 weeks and banned from owning any animal for the next 10 years, after pleading guilty to the sickening assault in Riversdale Drive, Frodsham on July 24 this year.

But Curran pleaded with magistrates, saying he had 'not been himself' during the attack on his pet dog, claiming his drink had been spiked with an 'acid tablet' while out drinking in the market town shortly before the incident.

“I had Sammy for nine years, I loved him, I really did love him,” he begged from the dock during the hearing at Chester Magistrates Court today (Friday, October 24).

“For my so called actions on this evening I have lost Sammy, I have lost my other dogs. Someone thought it would be a bit of fun to put something into my drink. I woke up the next morning in the cell.

“I was asking what have I done? I will suffer for the rest of my life for the actions of what I did.”

Witnesses who heard the dog ‘screaming’ and a man shouting in the street, described how Curran kicked the dog and slammed it against a car and a wall, the court heard.

One neighbour described him ‘swinging’ the dog ‘like an axe’ during the incident.

A schoolboy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said he felt ‘awful’ that he didn't try to save the dog, after seeing Curran hurl it through the air sending it somersaulting into a neighbour’s door.

“He saw something which he considered to be horrific, he saw him pick up the dog by the legs and in one movement flung it over the hedge into next door’s garden,” said Rob Youds, prosecuting, reading the witness statement.

“Whilst in the air it somersaulted at least once or twice and hit the neighbour’s door. It let out a large strangled yelp.

“[He said] I was so angry, he couldn't believe that someone could treat a dog like that. [He said] I am now aware that the dog died, it has left me feeling awful that I did not do more to save it.”

Curran, who keeps birds including tunnelling pigeons and finches in his back garden, was described as an animal lover in court who had grown up surrounded by dogs.

He originally pleaded not guilty to causing unnecessary suffering of a protected animal, but changed his plea before his trial was scheduled to begin, saying he could not believe or remember what he had done.

Howard Jones, defending, said that his client had been told that someone had put an acid tablet into his drink, saying: “He couldn't believe himself he could have acted in such a manner because of his background with dogs and his animals.

“Sammy was a family animal, he was part of the family, he cannot explain what he did.”

Curran has already had three Lurcher dogs taken away by the RSPCA but will now have the birds removed from his care and be banned from owning or even looking after animals for the next 10 years.

He will not be able to appeal the ban for at least five years.

Curran, who has 14 previous convictions some of which are for violence, also pleaded guilty to assaulting PC Scott Graves after kicking him while he was being arrested.

He was sentenced to 26 weeks, reduced to 22 weeks for his guilty plea, for attacking his dog and two weeks for assaulting a police officer – these will run concurrently.

Presiding magistrate John Rooney said: “It was a disgraceful attack, take him down.”