On April 3, police were called to a home in Oxford on the grounds of severely injuring an animal. Callum Gerken was arrested on April 4, before being charged the following day for causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and sending malicious communications.

Initially Gerken denied all charges, but last minute on Friday (May 24th) he changed his plea to guilty, accepting a sentence of under six months in jail. The breeder from which the dog was bought has come out to speak out against the sentence, asserting that it wasn't enough to suit his crime.

Gerken had beaten a 17-week-old black Labrador puppy with a slipper, giving her injuries that ultimately led to her death. The dog, named Shadow, was found to have suffered a laceration to her liver, a broken jaw, and fractured ribs, all because the puppy wasn't house-trained and had tore some of his belongings.

Gerken was also discovered to have sent malicious voice messages via WhatsApp to Shadow's owner, an unnamed woman in her 20's, in which he said: "I have just beat it from one side of the room to the other. I don’t give a f***. That is how it will be with me. She ain’t gonna do that again because she cannot f***ing walk."

Now, the puppy's breeder has revealed how they feel about the sentence, which will amount to under six months in prison. In an interview with the Oxford Mail, the woman (who chose to remain unnamed) said that the dog was treasured by two children aged six and eight, and the sentence was ultimately too lenient.

According to this unidentified woman, Shadow was a beloved pet of the family for only five weeks before the incident occurred. "We are all devastated," she said. "We couldn't tell the kids how she died as they would be too heartbroken."

"I was there when she was born and I watched her grown up and learn to walk and run. She didn't know anything else but love. They had only had her five weeks and they all absolutely adored her and he comes along and beats her to death.

"We don't feel justice has been done at all."

Gerken has now been sentenced to 23 weeks in prison, as well as being ordered to pay £250 compensation, £1,000 in court costs, in addition to being banned from keeping dogs for 10 years.

On April 3, police were called to a home in Oxford on the grounds of severely injuring an animal. Callum Gerken was arrested on April 4, before being charged the following day for causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and sending malicious communications.

Initially Gerken denied all charges, but last minute on Friday (May 24th) he changed his plea to guilty, accepting a sentence of under six months in jail. The breeder from which the dog was bought has come out to speak out against the sentence, asserting that it wasn't enough to suit his crime.

Gerken had beaten a 17-week-old black Labrador puppy with a slipper, giving her injuries that ultimately led to her death. The dog, named Shadow, was found to have suffered a laceration to her liver, a broken jaw, and fractured ribs, all because the puppy wasn't house-trained and had tore some of his belongings.

Gerken was also discovered to have sent malicious voice messages via WhatsApp to Shadow's owner, an unnamed woman in her 20's, in which he said: "I have just beat it from one side of the room to the other. I don’t give a f***. That is how it will be with me. She ain’t gonna do that again because she cannot f***ing walk."

Now, the puppy's breeder has revealed how they feel about the sentence, which will amount to under six months in prison. In an interview with the Oxford Mail, the woman (who chose to remain unnamed) said that the dog was treasured by two children aged six and eight, and the sentence was ultimately too lenient.

According to this unidentified woman, Shadow was a beloved pet of the family for only five weeks before the incident occurred. "We are all devastated," she said. "We couldn't tell the kids how she died as they would be too heartbroken."

"I was there when she was born and I watched her grown up and learn to walk and run. She didn't know anything else but love. They had only had her five weeks and they all absolutely adored her and he comes along and beats her to death.

"We don't feel justice has been done at all."

Gerken has now been sentenced to 23 weeks in prison, as well as being ordered to pay £250 compensation, £1,000 in court costs, in addition to being banned from keeping dogs for 10 years.