A woman who was sent a heart-breaking photo of a beloved golden retriever drowned in a bath believes the dog was killed because he was getting too old to go hillwalking.
Karen Howarth was sent the shocking image by ex-partner Allan Petrie in a late-night text message exchange.
Petrie pled guilty at Kirkcaldy Sheriff court to killing the dog.
Karen, 52, had ended her five-year on-off relationship with Petrie earlier in the year but they had kept in touch.
She described Jack, who was the father to one of her own dogs Dakota, as “the best dog”.
She said: “Jack was a dog that as soon as he saw you the tail was wagging and he had a big smile. He was the biggest, canniest lump you could ever get.
“You couldn’t get a better, more loving dog.”
Petrie’s love of the outdoors
She believes Petrie turned on the 10-year-old Golden Retriever as he was becoming too old to go hill walking, and because he was scared of fireworks.
She said: “I think he was raging because he likes to go walking, and he likes to go up hills – we’re talking Munros. Jack wasn’t able for the hills.
“He’d be alright for the walk, but the following day he’d be all sore. And that didn’t suit Allan.
“And then you’ve got fireworks night. He didn’t like fireworks, hated fireworks with a passion. Even before the fireworks came, that dog knew that it was that time of year and any time he heard a bang he would shiver and quake and be a mess.”
Shocking photo of dog drowned in bath
Karen, who lives in Methil, recalled the terrifying moment she was sent the photo of Jack’s lifeless body stretched out in a bathtub.
She said: “I got a text saying ‘I’ve just killed’.
“I said: ‘What have you killed, a spider?’ and then he said that he’d drowned Jack.
“I said I didn’t believe him because he loved that dog and he sent me a photo of Jack in the bath.
“I was screaming and didn’t even know I was screaming. When I realised I had to push my face into a pillow because I didn’t want to wake my neighbours.”
Dragged through the house
Karen said: “I was absolutely heartbroken. Absolutely devastated, and shocked, and I was just beside myself.
“He phoned me and he was laughing – he said ‘you should have seen me trying to get him out of the bath. That f***er was heavy’.
“He said he had to grab him by the tail and drag him through the house.”
She added: “I’m no hateful person – I’ve never hated anybody in my life – but I so, so, so, so wanted to hate him that night. I begged God to be able to hate somebody so that I could hate him.
“That Christmas was a nightmare – the telly was full of big, cuddly, fluffy Golden Retriever puppies and all I did was greet.”
