Both the greyhound's ears had been cut off

Andrew Gough was jailed for six months in December and banned from keeping animals for life after he shot the dog.

The shot left a gaping hole in the animal's skull but failed to kill it.

He then cut off the dog's ears to prevent identification and dumped him, still alive, by a footpath on Fochriw Mountain, near Merthyr Tydfil.

A woman walking her dog on last May discovered the dog Charlie - who also raced under the name Last Hope.

This was an appalling attack on a defenceless animal in a bungled attempt to kill it Judge Treverton-Jones

The greyhound was whimpering and had to be put down immediately because he was so distressed.

Gough, 28, of Tiryberth, near Caerphilly, appealed on the grounds that the principal witnesses against him were inconsistent in their accounts of what happened.

Cardiff Crown Court heard this week that the prosecution's original case was that Gough, who kept and raced greyhounds for 20 years, had been paid �10 to dispose of the dog after it became lame and could not race any more.

Richard Ace, prosecuting, said owner John Hurley had decided that Charlie should be destroyed and asked trainer Mark Emmett to organise for the dog to be taken to a local farmer to be put down.

Mr Ace said Gough had said he would use a humane killing tool used to dispose of livestock.

Andrew Gough was jailed for six months

Gough, a former registered kennel hand, denied that he had been asked to put down the animal.

He told the court he had no knowledge of the methods used to put down greyhounds and had never seen a humane killer.

Giving evidence, Gough told the court: "They are trying to stitch me up. They think that I'm dull but I'm not as dull as I look."

Defending, Kate Broadhurst said: "It is simply not possible to say who caused the injuries to the dog and the only person who knows is the person who did it."

After the greyhound was discovered, a local animal welfare group issued posters appealing for information and Mr Emmett confronted Gough.

Mr Emmett told the court that Gough had insisted he had disposed of the dog humanely.

Judge Treverton-Jones rejected Gough's appeal, saying: "This was an appalling attack on a defenceless animal in a bungled attempt to kill it."

He also dismissed an appeal against Gough's sentence and ban on keeping animals.

"We can't conceive of a very much worse case of animal cruelty than this."