A man from Liverpool who nearly blinded a police dog acting under the influence of monkey dust and cocaine has become the first person to be jailed under Finn law.
Daniel O’Sullivan, 29, admitted a charge under Finn’s Law on Monday and was immediately jailed for 21 months for the attack and other offences at Stoke on Trent Crown Court.
The law, officially known as the Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act 2019, means people can be prosecuted for attacking service animals including police dogs.
O’Sullivan, who had previous convictions for attacking police, battery and affray, also spat in officers’ faces, made threats and kicked another in the head as they fought to restrain him in the street.
Listing the dog’s injuries, the prosecuting barrister said: ‘The police dog had one or two stab wounds to its face, one very near to eyeball. ‘The vet that treated the dog said it was lucky not to have lost an eye during the course of its service’
O’Sullivan was jailed for four months apiece for each of the officer assaults, 18 months for having the knife, and eight months for having the bottle as a weapon, all to be served concurrently.
