Dog doused in bleach, beaten over the head and then dumped in bath

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A shocking video showed the moment an RSPCA inspector found a dog lying in a bath after she had been abused by her owner.

In the footage inspector Sarah Bagley shouts ‘flippin ‘eck’ after stumbling across American Bulldog Smiler during a search of her owner David Bell’s home in Keighley, West Yorkshire, on August 8.

The animal was found with a bloodied tea towel over her head after corrosive Flash household cleaner had been doused into her eyes, which forced them shut.

She also had a wound on her head after being repeatedly beaten over the head.

Insp Bagley said: ‘I went to Bell’s home with police after having a couple of dealings with him about his dog Smiler, who had a condition called cherry eye, and becoming increasingly concerned about her.

‘Initially there was no reply, then myself and one of the police officers heard heavy breathing through the ground floor bathroom window.

‘I was horrified to see Smiler in the bath with a bloodied tea towel on her head.’

A friend of Bell’s let Insp Bagley and the police into the property and she found the animal conscious in the bath alongside a bottle of human shampoo and Flash household cleaner.

They then managed to get her out of the flat and rushed her straight to a local vet practice.

She was found to have multiple injuries including two large wounds to the top of her head which needed to be stitched, bruising to the head and a loose tooth that needed to be removed.

Her eyes were flushed to get rid of any cleaning product.

The vet’s examination ruled the injuries were not accidental and attempts to clean Smiler afterwards would have caused pain and suffering.

Smiler spent a week under treatment and supervision at the vets during which time she slowly started to physically recover.

The dog survived and is currently being cared for by staff at RSPCA Sheffield.

Insp Bagley added she was recovering well and seemed to be a ‘much brighter, happier dog’.

She will be put up for adoption soon.

Bell denied causing the injuries but he was found guilty at a trial on December 3.

He was due to attend court on January 7 to be sentenced but failed to appear and was arrested on a warrant.

He found himself in the dock two days later at Bradford Magistrates’ Court where he was handed the 16-week prison sentence.

The dog was also removed from his care and he was ordered to pay a £121 victim surcharge.

Bell was banned from keeping animals for life for hurting Smiler.

He had previously been convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog by inflicting trauma on her, failing to provide veterinary attention for her injuries and applying cleaning products to her head and eyes.

Insp Bagley added: ‘Bell didn’t offer any plausible explanation for Smiler’s predicament – in interview he said that she had probably cut her head on barbed wire during a walk in the woods.’