I was appalled and horrified by the front-page news about the poor dog that had been brutalised by its 14-year-old owner (The Argus, August 13).

I had been in the same situation as he when I lived in a suburb of London. I had bought my maisonette in Hounslow having been told there were many dogs on the estate.

It didn't take long, however, for the council to get wind of the fact I had brought a dog with me and begin threatening me with possession of my home and eviction if I didn't get rid of him.

I am an avid supporter of Battersea Dogs' Home, where both my first and current dogs came from. My dog's welfare is my paramount concern.

I told the council to do its worst but there was no way I was putting either myself or my dog through stress.

It all blew over eventually since there appears to be a little-known ruling that if you have had a dog more than six years it is allowed to live out its days with you.

However, you are obliged not to replace it once the inevitable happens.

This boy is a monster. Knowing the nature of dogs, the dear thing would probably still greet him with a wagging tail despite his inhuman brutality.

If all else fails, I would like to offer the poor creature a loving home.

Please make this boy aware of any responses to this article and the horror felt by readers. I would like to think he will never again be allowed

to keep animals but, Britain being the soft nation it is, he only has another ten years to go before he can imprison his next docile victim - and woe betide that next poor creature if it fights back.

It will end up being destroyed for being vicious. It makes my skin crawl, it truly does.

-Adrian J Andrews, adrianjandrews@yahoo.com