Jail, 10-year ban on pets for man who tried to hang corgi

Cute picture of a Corgi, [right] not the one Bradley  Kim Bergman tried to hang

CALGARY — A city man was jailed Monday and banned from owning pets for 10 years after a violent domestic incident in which he tried to hang his spouse’s corgi and assaulted her and a responding police officer.

Provincial court Judge Sean Dunningan, calling the March 1, 2009, incident a “despicable,” sentenced Bradley Kim Bergman, 56, to seven months.

That day, Bergman punched common-law wife Denise Head several times when she tried to get between him and Buddy the dog. He then spit in the face of Const. David Grouchey, who arrived after she called 911.

The stiff ban on Bergman owning pets, Crown prosecutor Gord Haight said outside court, is the first to be meted out in Calgary and perhaps in Canada since changes to the Criminal Code in November 2008.

“Under the old provisions of the Code, the maximum ban on animals would have been for three years,” said Haight. “It was a brutal crime, both to the dog and Ms. Head. It’s common that in cases of animal cruelty, there is an element of domestic violence.”

Dunnigan said the incident began when Bergman became upset with the dog vomiting inside their house. He then told Head he was going “to show you how I can skin and gut a dog.”

When she tried to get between the man and the dog as he grabbed a rope to go to the detached garage, where the dog was located, he punched her. When Bergman came back into the house, he told the officer he “hoped the dog was dead by now,” and spit in his face.

When the officer entered the garage, the noose was so tight the dog was gasping for breath. However, he was able to remove it and Buddy did not sustain permanent injuries.

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