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A Halifax man who admitted abusing his ex-girlfriend’s cat on two occasions in December 2017 will not be going to jail.

Anthony Paul Mercer, 30, pleaded guilty last August in Halifax provincial court to an Animal Protection Act charge of causing distress to the cat.

Mercer was sentenced Tuesday by Judge Elizabeth Buckle, who said the principles of denunciation and deterrence could be adequately addressed without sending him to jail as requested by the Crown.

The judge gave Mercer a 60-day conditional sentence, followed by 18 months’ probation, and banned him from owning or caring for animals for 15 years.

Mercer will be on house arrest for the first 20 days of his conditional sentence. The judge ordered him to take part in counselling as directed by his sentence supervisor and to make restitution of $878 by the end of October 2020, the 17th month of his probation order.

The money will go toward owner Jennifer Derengoski’s $2,408 vet bill for the cat, a male named Louie. The rest of the bill was covered by the proceeds from a GoFundMe account.

“There is no indication here that the public would be put at risk if Mr. Mercer were permitted to serve his sentence in the community under conditions,” Buckle said.

“The sentence can and will contain punitive consequences but allow Mr. Mercer to continue his employment and the counselling that is necessary to his rehabilitation.”

Mercer was living with Derengoski at her Halifax apartment when the incidents happened. Derengoski adopted Louie on Nov. 29, 2017. The cat was five years old at the time.

On the evening of Dec. 20, Derengoski and Mercer were visiting friends in another apartment in their building. Mercer left the unit, saying he had to use the washroom. When he came back an hour later, he was “white as a sheet” and had changed clothes.

When Derengoski and Mercer returned to their apartment, she observed streaks of feces and blood all over the place. She found Louie under the bed in the spare bedroom, in a pool of blood and barely moving.

The cat was rushed to a veterinary clinic for emergency treatment. The animal had multiple jaw fractures, several broken or missing teeth, lacerations on its chin and tongue and damaged nails.

Louie was placed on several medications, including a fentanyl patch, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and other opioids. The vet also installed a feeding tube.

The next day, Derengoski found a bag at the bottom of her closet that contained Mercer’s clothing, covered in feces and blood.

About a week earlier, Derengoski had taken the cat to the vet after noticing it was having trouble eating. Louie had a hematoma to his right eye, swelling in his mouth and damage to his paws. The indoor cat had clearly suffered a traumatic injury, but it wasn’t obvious how it had happened.

In pleading guilty, Mercer admitted that he kicked the cat on both occasions because he was angry with his girlfriend and wanted to hurt her.

Defence lawyer Brad Sarson said his client was drinking alcohol and possibly using drugs when he abused the animal. He said Mercer accepts responsibility for his actions, is genuinely remorseful and has received extensive counselling since the incidents.

Mercer, who was assessed by a psychologist and a social worker, suffers from depression and emotional and psychological development delays.

“The behaviour admitted by Mr. Mercer is serious, inexcusable and sad,” the judge said. “Nothing I say here should be interpreted as detracting from the real suffering his actions have caused.

“Ms. Derengoski trusted Mr. Mercer. He betrayed that trust by abusing her animal. The cat was … innocent, dependant, defenceless and unable to avoid receiving Mr. Mercer’s anger.”

But Mercer’s conduct must be placed on a continuum, Buckle said.

“The offence he pleaded guilty to is a provincial offence,” she said. “The maximum sentence permitted is six months in jail. That sentence should, in general, be reserved for the reasonably worst offender and the reasonably worst offence.”

The judge said the cat has made a full recovery physically, although it may be nervous or skittish with people the rest of its life.

“I have no evidence to suggest that Mr. Mercer’s violence toward the cat was anything other than impulsive,” Buckle said. “There’s no evidence that it was calculated or planned in any way.

“It is aggravating that it occurred twice. One would hope that after the first time, there would have been remorse, regret and a realization that there was something wrong that needed to be addressed, either by getting help or by removing himself from contact with the animal. He did neither.

“However, I accept the opinions of the professionals that his actions are not an indication of psychopathy. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t need help. His emotional and psychological development is delayed. He clearly has a temper. He needs to find a way to control his anger or express it in ways that do not involve violence.”

Crown attorney Sarah Kirby had asked for a sentence of four months in jail and two years’ probation to express society’s abhorrence for the conduct.

The judge’s decision to impose a conditional sentence disappointed the cat’s owner. “I feel like she let Louie down,” Derengoski told The Chronicle Herald.

At the end of Tuesday’s hearing, Sarson told the court Mercer is concerned about his safety and believes someone followed him home from court in February.

That prompted Buckle to issue a stern warning to those in the public gallery about vigilantism.

“Any action taken toward Mr. Mercer in relation to this matter could be considered to be a criminal offence and, in my opinion, as serious as or more serious than the offence that Mr. Mercer has been sentenced for,” the judge said.

Derengoski said Mercer has nothing to fear from her circle of friends.

“Definitely not,” she said. “They’re angry, but they’re not going to act on it.”