NEWS AND COMMENT: The video is difficult to watch, of course. I’ve watched it very briefly because I have to in order to write this article. The elderly man appears to have acted aggressively in the video as indicated by the way he puts on his dog’s collar. The dog approaches him with his head down; a very submissive position. And after he puts the collar over his dog, he shakes the dog’s head between his hands. Aggressive? I think, yes, because of what happens next.
Note: this page has been updated with some recent good news. Please scroll down.
His aggressivity spills over when he spots a black-and-white cat, Lenny, on the road outside minding his own business who he kicks violently. Lenny was 20 years of age. He was standing quietly in the street as he was allowed outside. We are told that he was a friendly cat, greeting people.
And you can see I’ve used the past tense because a three days later he died. It’s been suggested, and very plausibly, that the kick delivered by this man resulted in Lenny’s death.
You can see the man deliver the kick to Lenny’s belly lifting him into the air. He landed behind a parked car. He went home and his owner didn’t initially understand what was wrong with him because his behaviour was abnormal.
And then she discovered he had been kicked when she checked her Ring Doorbell video footage.
Lenny’s owner does not want to be named but she said: “At first I was just gobsmacked. I was like ‘How can you do that?'”
She confirmed that she noticed a big difference in his behaviour. He became slower and he wasn’t himself.
The incident took place at about 7 am on September 16, 2023. Warwickshire police are investigating and have asked the public for any information they might have. The video footage is very good evidence I would suggest. I don’t think you could have better evidence in fact. I’m not sure why the police want to interview people. Update: the man has been identified and at 16th Oct 2023, the police are preparing to interview him. Note: he must be known in the area by some people.
Neighbours have paid their respects and he is survived by his niece, Lily, who lives with the same family.
The street you see in the video is Hastang Fields, Leamington Spa. The man’s dog is an Alsatian.
The Sunday Times journalist appear to agree with me when they write that the man “grabs the dog by the neck and shakes it”. Why did he do that? It looks too aggressive to be an act of friendship.
The kick is delivered to Lenny is casual, callous and wanton. There is absolutely no reason for it whatsoever. It is an unprovoked attack by a person on an innocent cat in plain sight. It is unquestionably a breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 as it caused unnecessary suffering. You have to argue that it must have caused unnecessary suffering such was the force of the kick.
There is a question mark over whether an autopsy was carried out. I don’t think it was but it should have been. That would have established a connection, a causal link, between the kick and Lenny’s death.
The RSPCA reports that there has been a 22% increase in animal abuse in England and Wales between 2021 and 2022 to a total of 9,658 incidents.
The RSPCA puts the blame down to post-pandemic behaviour and the cost-of-living crisis. Comment: the cost-of-living crisis is almost over and perhaps was exaggerated and I don’t think we can blame Covid for this kind of behaviour.
Update 10th November 2023
This cat-kicker has been caught, prosecuted and convicted and sentenced to a 12-month community order and ordered to pay £200 in compensation at Leamington Spa Magistrates’ Court! And I am delighted. He was banned from keeping a cat for five years, and ordered to pay £185 in costs and a victim surcharge of £114.
The male’s name is Terry Bree. He pleaded guilty on Friday to a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on September 16 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, UK.
Apparently, he saw red and kicked out at Lenny. The defence lawyer said he had some bad experiences with cats which may have encouraged him to kick out. But he was also antagonistic towards his dog, Sasha, pulling her head around in an aggressive way.
Lenny died several days later in hospital but there’s no medical connection between the kicking and his death although it seems likely. That’s the end of the story. I am pleased to report that this man was found and successfully prosecuted. That brings peace of mind to cat and animal lovers.
Let mee know where he lives and I’ll kick him very hard into the road too!
He’s horrible, isn’t he? Just a nasty man.