A WEST Cumbrian couple whose pet dog became so emaciated it looked like a “bag of bones” have been given suspended jail terms.
A judge at Carlisle Crown Court accepted that Samantha Bagley, 30, and Stephen Graham, 34, did not deliberately starve their Staffordshire bull terrier Keanu but they allowed its condition to deteriorate through "inadequacy."
The couple, from Egremont, each pleaded guilty to an allegation of causing the dog unnecessary suffering.
Ayesha Smart, prosecuting on behalf of the the RSPCA, said the charity became involved in the case on November 22 when a worker in Whitehaven took a call from Graham. He said that he wanted to have Keanu rehomed and that the dog was sick and losing weight. He reported that dog had “lost control” of its bowels.
Graham said the weight loss had been going on for six to eight months but had in recent weeks become more rapid.
He told a charity worker that he could not take the dog to the vets because he was in dispute over an unpaid bill but he said he had fed the dog baby milk and was putting water in his dry food to “fill him up.”
Despite being told that the charity could help with vets’ bills and treatment, Graham was reluctant and simply wanted “to get rid of the dog,” said Miss Smart.
On November 24, an RSPCA official went to the couple’s home to collect the dog. “Keanu was literally a bag of bones,” said Miss Smart. The dog’s hips and ribs were clearly visible. Keanu weighed 9.6kg, yet his normal weight should have been 16kg.
Defence barrister Brendan Burke said the offences had arisen out of “inadequacy” rather than a deliberate attempt to starve Keanu. Recorder Tony Hawks responded by saying: “If I thought that they had deliberately starved this dog, I’d send them to prison.”
He told Graham, whose criminal record comprises 42 previous offences, that he noted the defendant’s history of mental health problems, saying: “You are plainly an antisocial and grossly inadequate individual.”
The Recorder said: “That animal put its trust in the pair of you and you betrayed that trust… But I accept that it was simply inadequacy rather than neglect which caused that dog to suffer in the way it did.”
The judge gave the defendants, of Milton Road, Egremont, a six month jail term, suspended for 18 months. For Graham, that sentence includes a requirement to complete 30 rehabilitation activity days. There are no conditions attached to the sentence for Bagley, who has no previous convictions.
Both were banned from keeping or controlling any animal for a decade and they can not challenge that disqualification for five years.
After the case, RSPCA Inspector Martyn Fletcher said: “The message here is that the responsibility of animal ownership is a serious one. When you don’t take that responsibility seriously, and don’t seek help, then the consequences can be serious.”
He urged those who are struggling to care for a pet to seek help and not to bury their head in the sand. The west Cumbrian dog foster carer who took in Keanu said she was “absolutely shocked” when she first saw him.
“I couldn’t believe that he was still alive; he was literally just a bag of bones.”
Now fully recovered, Keanu was a happy, loving and trusting pet. “He absolutely loves people,” she added.
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