Midlothian man who killed his dog by hitting her with hammer and stabbing her through chest given lifetime ban
*Warning - the following story contains detail of extreme animal cruelty*
A Midlothian man has been banned from owning animals for the rest of his life after he struck his black Labrador over the head with a hammer and stabbed her in the chest before leaving her to die.
Scottish SPCA officers were called to the property of Glenn Tweedie in Loanhead in September 2025 after a call of concern was made regarding a dog “screaming” from inside.
Tweedie told the SSPCA officer who attended that he had a female Labrador named Caillie, who had been euthanised a few days earlier. He claimed that he had taken Caillie to the vet due to her being in pain from her reproductive cycle.
After the SSPCA Inspector told Tweedie that he would be calling the vet to confirm Tweedie’s version of events, Tweedie approached him upon his return to his van and asked if he could come inside the property to speak more about the situation.
It was during this conversation that Tweedie admitted to killing Caillie himself as he couldn’t afford the vet bill.
He told the Inspector that Caillie had been in pain in the back garden and was unable to stand up. He then said that he clubbed the female Labrador over the head with a hammer, which left her conscious and in extreme pain, before stabbing her through the chest with a large knife.
While he had aimed for her heart, Tweedie had in fact pierced Caillie’s lung, leaving her to bleed out and drown in her own blood. He then told the inspector that he had put Caillie’s body into a black bag and buried her in a shallow grave in a nearby wooded area.
The Inspector called for additional assistance to recover Caillie’s body, which was found at the bottom of a large ditch and covered in branches.
After her body was recovered, a postmortem was undertaken which concluded that Caillie’s suffering had only begun after she was hit over the head with the hammer, and that she had no sign of reproductive system pain. The pathologist also concluded that she died after the stab wound, which resulted in a huge blood loss and would’ve led to a loss of consciousness and her eventual death.
Tweedie also had another black labrador named Jura who was seized and taken into the care of the SSPCA.
The SSPCA has described the incident as “one of the most stomach-turning cases” the welfare charity has ever been involved in.
The Inspector involved in the case said: “In my three years working as an Inspector for the Scottish SPCA, this is the most upsetting case I’ve seen by an enormous margin and the most eye-wateringly violent conduct towards a completely innocent pet.
“Tweedie wrongly claimed Caillie was in immense pain, but in fact it was he who caused his animal to suffer in the most unimaginable way – both physically and mentally.
“To then dump Caillie in a ditch shows Tweedie’s complete lack of remorse and how little regard he has for animals."
Tweedie was sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday, October 28, where he was handed a lifetime ban on owning and keeping animals after being convicted of animal cruelty. He was also handed a 12-month restriction of liberty order and an 18-month supervision order.