A pet groomer has been convicted over the fatal beating of a dog with a hairdryer at a Maribyrnong salon.
Paul Rogers faced the Sunshine Magistrate’s Court on Monday on multiple animal cruelty charges over an incident at the Petbarn salon at Highpoint shopping centre in April last year.
The court heard that the dog died soon after the incident from the resulting injuries.
Rogers, who entered a guilty plea, was sentenced to three months imprisonment and ordered to perform 200 hours community work.
He appealed the severity of the sentence and has been bailed pending the hearing of the appeal in November.
The court disqualified Roberts from being in charge of an animal for the maximum 10 years.
The RSPCA can monitor Roberts if there is cause to believe he may not be complying with the disqualification.
The operators of the Petbarn grooming salon where Rogers worked immediately reported the incident to the RSPCA and Victoria Police.
RSPCA prosecutor Daniel Bode said the RSPCA was able to put a strong case before the courts because of the full co-operation of the Petbarn business during the investigation, including the provision of CCTV footage.
“We are appalled at the cruelty inflicted on this dog, and the betrayal of trust experienced by the dog’s owner who had left the dog in the groomer’s care in good faith,” Mr Bode said.
The current salon manager said Rogers was dismissed following the incident, which occurred under previous management.
RSPCA Victoria chief executive Dr Liz Walker said the organisation would continue its ongoing partnership with Petbarn, which currently offers RSPCA Victoria cats and kittens for adoption through 12 stores in Victoria.
