Pet owner bludgeoned dog to death before writing chilling confession in the animal's BLOOD

A PET owner who bludgeoned his dog to death before writing a chilling confession in the animal's BLOOD has been jailed.

The dog [not pictured] was bludgeoned to death by its owner

Adrian Margerison, 47, hacked at the head of his Staffordshire Bull Terrier before writing the words 'I killed Cracker' on a bedroom wall.

A court heard that Marderison wrongly thought Cracker had cancer, so decided to feed the dog between eight and Tramadol painkiller tablets in a bid to put the pooch to sleep.

But when the animal woke and started yelping in pain an hour later, Margerison placed a duvet over her head before hitting her twice with the blunt end of a 12-inch axe.

He dialled 999 and police officers arrived at the property in Snailbeach, Shropshire, on September 22 to find the dog in a pool of blood and panting heavily.

Cracker suffered such heavy blood loss as a result of deep wound to the back of her head that vets were forced to put her down.

Margerison admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the dog and was jailed for 20 weeks at Shrewsbury Magistrates' Court.

Roger Price, representing the RSPCA, told the court: "The caller said he had struck his dog twice with an axe. Police were also called and attended the property.

"They had to push their way into the hallway of the house and once inside found Margerison crying and his hands covered in blood.

Cracker was attacked with the blunt end of a 12-inch axe (not pictured)

"A police officer found, written in blood on the wall of a room, a message to his family which included the words 'I killed Cracker'.

"He told police that he believed that his dog had cancer and had given her a lot of tablets to prevent her suffering.

The case was heard at Shrewsbury Magistrates' Court

"A police officer went upstairs and found the dog. There were blood splatters on the wall."

Mr Price added that Margerison had been drinking "between eight and 12 cans of cider and had taken some cannabis" on the night he killed Cracker.

The court heard Margerison had owned the dog for eight years but believed it had cancer following a conversation with a veterinary worker he had met at a garage.

A post mortem found two injuries to the dog's head and no evidence of any tumour or underlying disease.

Steven Scully, defending, said his client had given the dog painkillers to relieve her chronic pain.

The dog was found in a property in Snailsbeach, near Shrewsbury in Shropshire

He added: "He took the wrong decision to euthanise Cracker."

Margerison was also banned from keeping animals for five years and ordered to pay a £80 victim surcharge.