A Donington couple have been banned from keeping animals for seven years after their pet dog was found dead in a shed at their home.
Zac and Charlotte Johnson, of Gleed Avenue, had admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a brown female English bulldog named Esme by failing to adequately investigate or address the cause of her weight loss and poor condition.
Appearing before Boston magistrates, they were both banned from keeping all animals for seven years and to carry out a 12-month community order, including 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and fined £100.
The court was told on May 19 that an officer from the RSPCA visited their home in March last year following reports of an underweight dog which had died.
The officer was taken to a shed and the body of the four-year-old dog was covered with a duvet.
A subsequent examination was carried out by ta vet and a post mortem was also held.
The results found that the dog had been emaciated and in a poor body condition. She had stomach ulceration with multiple plastic foreign bodies present. The dog also had blood clots in both her large and small intestine and congestion of the liver and kidneys. She also had conjunctivitis and an eye infection in both eyes.
“The suffering could have been avoided if the owners provided sufficient of an appropriate diet and sought veterinary advice for the poor condition, diarrhoea and conjunctivitis and not allowed her to linger and succumb to them. This in my opinion constitutes severe neglect and these owners have allowed this dog to suffer severe pain and distress, culminating in her death,” said a vet report to the court.
It added that all her issues would have been known for a number of weeks.
“They failed to provide the needs of this dog and protect her from pain, suffering, disease and neglect,” it concluded.
