Glenn Tweedie – Loanhead, Midlothian

Glenn Tweedie struck his Labrador twice over the head with a hammer, stabbed her through the chest and buried her body in woodland. He received no prison sentence.

The Loanhead dog owner was sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 28 October 2026. He received a lifetime ban on owning and keeping animals, a 12-month restriction of liberty order and an 18-month supervision order.

The Scottish SPCA investigated in September 2025 after someone reported hearing a dog screaming at a property. Tweedie initially told an inspector that his black Labrador, Caillie, had been put to sleep by a vet. When the inspector said he would check with the practice, Tweedie admitted he had killed her himself.

He claimed she was suffering and he could not afford the veterinary bill. A post-mortem found no evidence of the reproductive-system pain he described. The pathologist concluded that her suffering began when Tweedie hit her.

Caillie remained conscious after the hammer blows. Tweedie then stabbed her with a large knife, striking a lung and causing the blood loss that led to her death.

He put her body in a black bag and took her to nearby woods. Inspectors later recovered her remains from a ditch, covered with branches. A second Labrador, Jura, was seized and taken into Scottish SPCA care.

The investigating inspector described it as the most upsetting case they had encountered, condemning the extreme violence inflicted on an innocent pet.