Animal welfare officers seized a dog from a Perthshire property after neighbours claimed it had been left chained up outside in sub-zero temperatures.
Police and the SSPCA swooped on the house in Rattray and found a lurcher called Bruce tethered in the back garden.
Clifford Hodgkins has gone on trial, accused of neglecting the animal.
It is alleged that between November 27 and 29, 2020, the 40-year-old failed to provide a dog in his care with a suitable environment and limited its movement by tethering it to a chain, or similar, in a garden of a house at MacDonald Crescent, Rattray.
Hodgkins is accused of failing to provide the dog with adequate shelter and exposing it to cold temperatures and the elements.
Prosecutors claim he failed to provide the dog with adequate warmth and a comfortable resting area.
It is further alleged Hodgkins, of Woodlands Park, Blairgowrie, caused the dog unnecessary suffering by throwing stones at it.
He is also accused of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, likely to cause fear or alarm, by shouting and throwing stones at the dog.
Hodgkins denies all the charges.
Animal welfare raid
SSPCA inspector Katherine Aitchison told the trial at Perth Sheriff Court she went to the property in MacDonald Crescent on November 28, following complaints from neighbours.
“A male answered the door.
“At the time, he did not identify himself but I later understood that he was Clifford Hodgkins.
“He stated there was no dog in the back garden at all.
“I was told that a Lhaso Apso that I could see on the stairs behind him was the only dog on the property.”
Ms Aitchison said she returned with police the following day.
She described the lurcher-type dog in the back garden as “very cold and all hunched up”.
She said: “I think the night before the temperature had dropped to minus four.
“The dog was obviously tired and was shivering.
“Its tail was between its legs and it had a roached back.
“That’s not happy body language.”
Injuries to paws and face
She said the dog had access to a wooden shed, which had a tarpaulin sheet with a slit in it instead of a door.
“There was a small blanket on the floor of the shed.
“It wasn’t providing much comfort and it definitely wasn’t providing any heat.”
The dog was taken to SSPCA offices and examined.
Ms Aitchison said it had cracks on its paws, an infected claw and scarring on its face.
“He relaxed after a few minutes of being in the heat,” she said.
Under cross-examination by solicitor David Holmes, Ms Aitchison agreed the dog appeared to have been exercised.
‘Howling’
Neighbour Karen Thorburn told the trial she phoned police and SSPCA after having concerns about the animal.
“It had been howling over the course of a few days,” she said.
“It kept me awake.”
Healthcare support worker Ms Thorburn, 51, said: “It was freezing outside and as far as I could see it didn’t have any food or shelter.”
She added: “I heard a male shouting at the dog quite regularly.
“I couldn’t make out everything he was saying but I heard: ‘Get in, get in.’
“I didn’t get a clear view of him but he had a distinctive English accent.”
Threw gravel at dog
Retail worker Jenna Muir told the trial she was staying near the MacDonald Crescent house at the time.
The 24-year-old said she heard the dog crying and later saw Hodgkins shouting at it.
“He was being aggressive,” she said.
“I was on the phone to the police, watching it happen.
“He picked up a handful of gravel and threw it at the dog.”
The trial before Sheriff Francis Gill was adjourned until June 7.
