DISTRESSING IMAGES: Dog dies 'hungry, alone and in pain' after being left alone for over a week
A dog died ‘hungry’, ‘frightened,’ and ‘in pain,’ after being left alone in a house in Sheffield for over a week, heard a court.
A district judge at Sheffield Magistrates Court was told staffordshire bull terrier Zeus was found dead in a cage on a dirty blanket in a cold and dirty utility room without food or water at the property in Colley Road, Parson Cross.
Hannah Smith, aged 28, of Skye Edge, admitted leaving the dog, whom she was responsible for at the time, unattended, but said she believed another person was going in to look after him.
She has now been banned from keeping animals for 10 years, after a sentencing hearing, as well as being handed a two year community order to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work, following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.
The court was told that RSPCA Inspector Leanne Booth had gone to the property on January 12 last year. Seals had been placed over the locks and around the door frame by the charity the previous day to check if anyone had been entering the property following reports that a dog had been left alone.
It was Smith who initially called the RSPCA to raise concerns, claiming that someone else had access to her flat but she was concerned they weren’t attending to care for Zeus.
She said she had last seen him alive in the locked utility room on January 4 and described him as being ‘thin’ with his spine and ribs visible.
She said she had given Zeus food and water and then left him in the property to go back to another address, but following conversations had become concerned that the person who was supposed to be looking after him had not been going in.
The inspector was given keys to the flat and attended with the police, the same day when Zeus was found dead.
In her written statement to the court Insp Booth said: “I opened the door leading into the utility room, it was small with an external wooden door leading outside, there was no heating so it was quite cold.
“The floor was covered in a large amount of faeces, so much so that it was almost impossible to walk in the room without standing in it. Also mixed in with the faeces I noticed what looked like dry complete dog food.
“There were three silver dog dishes, one was overturned in the faeces, the other two were dry. Also in this room was a metal dog training cage. The door to the cage was open and there was a dirty blanket. Next to the blanket at the back of the cage was Zeus, he was already dead and in rigor mortis.“
Next to the blanket at the back of the cage was Zeus, he was already dead
She said the dog was so thin that his ribs, hips, and spine were visible as was the shape of his skull. The area of Zeus’ head that would usually have muscle was sunk in, so the shape of his eye sockets were clearly visible, she told the court.
Zeus was taken to a vet, weighting just 14kg (2.2 stone) and was given a body condition score of 2/9.
In his written statement the vet who saw him said: “The person responsible for Zeus has, through their inaction, left him to suffer horribly before his death.
“He had very likely suffered from itchy skin, starvation and extreme thirst. Any reasonable person should have sought veterinary help immediately given his visibly obvious poor condition.
“The environment in which he was left to die was completely cruel and inappropriate for animal habitation - it was cold and filthy, with an inadequate supply of food and water. In addition to being in pain, thirsty and hungry, he would probably have been feeling extremely cold and alone with no social interaction.”
He said the cause of death appeared to be starvation and malnutrition, which he described as a direct result of the neglect Zeus suffered.
Smith, who lives at another address in Sheffield, was interviewed by Insp Booth about what had happened to Zeus. The court was told she had last seen the dog alive on January 4 and prior to that, two days earlier. She said that since November, someone else had repeatedly told her they would come and get him from the flat but had failed to do so.
She denied she had left Zeus to die, but acknowledged that he wouldn’t have been able to survive without food or water and had suffered alone and frightened in his final days.
Sentencing Smith, district judge Tim Spruce said she had pleaded guilty on the first day of her trial and could be given a limited amount of credit for that.
He said the court was sure she had caused considerable suffering to Zeus, which was ‘prolonged’. He said the dog had died hungry, frightened, alone and in pain, at a time when Smith had control and responsibility for him.
He told her: “You had a duty to take the utmost care of Zeus and provide a proper execution of your responsibility. If you couldn’t personally manage you were obliged to find someone who could care for Zeus.”
She was also ordered to pay £750 in costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
In mitigation the court was told that Smith’s mental health had led to her poor lack of judgement and she had meant the dog no harm. Her solicitor described the case as a ‘tragic incident’ and said Smith had believed another person was genuine when they said they would collect the dog from her flat.