A dog owner made her pet cough and groan after blowing cannabis smoke up his nose at the request of her prisoner boyfriend. Claire Anderson, from Hazel Grove, was banned from keeping animals for a decade by magistrates in Stockport today (April 14).
Prosecuting, Nicole Bridgman told Stockport Magistrates Court that Anderson had been speaking to her partner James Millington, who had called her landline number from prison at 11pm on November 26, 2020. Anderson was smoking a cannabis joint at the time of the phone call, which was recorded.
The court heard that Anderson's dog, called Benji, could be heard in the background of the call. Ms Bridgman said that after noticing Benji, Millington told Anderson: "Put your hand around his nose, put the joint in your mouth and blow."
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After confirming to Millington that she had followed his instructions, the dog could be heard 'making quite a loud groan' in the recording of the call, Ms Bridgman said. She added: "Mr Millington asked 'did it go up his nose'. The defendant laughed and said 'I think so'. She offered to do it again."
Having heard Benji starting to cough, Millington asked Anderson if the noise was coming from the dog. Ms Bridgman said Anderson replied: "Yeah that's him. He hates smoking. You know what it's like when I'm smoking, he starts sneezing."
Ms Bridgman told the court that before the phone call ended, Millington spoke to Anderson about making Benji ingest cannabis again once he had been released from prison. A veterinarian's report read in court stated that dogs can fall over and 'become unsteady' from ingesting cannabis, while their pupils dilate similar to humans'.
The court heard Anderson, 33, had four previous convictions, with the most recent coming earlier this year for her part in a conspiracy to smuggle drugs into HMP Doncaster, which also involves Millington, 31, of HMP Leeds. Earlier this month, Anderson was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for being concerned in the supply of Class B and C drugs into prison between 2017 and 2020, conspiring to supply Class B drugs into prison and conspiring to convey List B articles into prison.
Anderson was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal following a trial, before being sentenced this afternoon. She appeared at Stockport Magistrates Court via video link from New Hall prison in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Defending, Oliver Gardner told the court that Anderson 'would expect a community penalty' rather than a custodial sentence for her latest offence, but admitted this would not be possible with her already serving a prison sentence. He told magistrates that Anderson was in an 'abusive and coercive relationship' at the time of the offence, but admitted that this 'does not excuse or mitigate what was done'.
Anderson, of Hazelwood Road, was handed a four-week prison sentence to run concurrently from her existing jail term. She was also ordered to pay £300 in costs plus £128 as a victim surcharge, and was disqualified from owning or keeping an animal for 10 years.
