A brave dog which was punched several times as it tried to save its owner from a life-threatening attack was so traumatised by the ordeal that it had to be put down.
The attacker, serial domestic abuser Stephen Conway, 37, was jailed for four years and six months as a sheriff described him as “despicable”.
Conway subjected Amanda Barbour and Kim McLeish to systematic abuse over a seven-year period and endangered their lives by throttling them and savagely beating them up.
Sheriff William Wood also imposed a five-year non-harassment order on Conway and paid tribute to the bravery of his victims for speaking out against him.
He said: “You were manipulative and controlling. Perhaps you selected these women because of their vulnerabilities or social isolation.
“You abused, victimised and preyed on them.”
Ms Barbour wept as she told the jury her dog Enzo, a collie/Staffordshire terrier cross, was punched several times as he tried to save her when Conway launched one of his regular attacks.
She said: “Enzo was trying to protect me. Stephen threw him down on to the sofa and hit him several times.
“The dog would kick off and bark every time Stephen’s name was mentioned. His personality changed and in the end he had to be put down.”
A jury at Perth Sheriff Court found Conway, of Denvale Gardens, Kennoway, Fife, guilty of attacking Ms Barbour several times between 2010 and 2015 at their home in Kirkcaldy and endangering her life.
He was found guilty of repeatedly compressing her neck, placing her in a headlock and threatening to kill her during the attacks.
Conway was also found guilty of subjecting her to a tirade of verbal abuse and trashing their home by punching doors and smashing fixtures and fittings.
He admitted breaking a bail order by defying an order to stay away from Ms Barbour on December 5.
Ms McLeish, another former partner of Conway’s, told the jury that she felt she was going to die during one of his savage and sustained attacks.
She described how she cowered in fear as Conway stood over her with a kettle of boiling water and told her he was going to pour its contents over her.
He was found guilty of injuring Ms McLeish repeatedly between July 1 2016 and March 29 last year.
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