A prosecutor intends to appeal for a tougher sentence in the case of a man convicted of cruelty to an elderly dog.Craig Clarke was handed a conditional discharge by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner after pleading guilty on August 22 to allowing Sapphire the Rottweiler to suffer unnecessarily.Mr Clarke, 44, a former prison officer, was also banned from keeping animals for 12 months.Before imposing the sentence, Mr Warner saw pictures of the emaciated dog and heard how she was starving and riddled with fleas, worms and tumours when rescued by the SPCA in May.She was around 12 to 13 years old and eventually had to be put to sleep due to her tumours and advanced age.News of Clarke’s sentence caused a public outcry, and chairman of the SPCA Andrew Madeiros called for tougher sentences for those convicted of animal cruelty. Dr Madeiros described Clarke’s sentence as a “disappointing slap on the wrist”.Yesterday, in answer to a question from this newspaper, prosecutor Geoffrey Failla said: “I am going to be appealing it, although I have not filed the notice of appeal yet.”He said he would be asking the Supreme Court to consider a “decision in law” in the case and to impose a stronger sentence.