A West Cumbrian couple whose dog became a bag of bones and endured suffering due to their neglect of the pet have been handed suspended prison sentences.
Stephen Graham, 34, initially contacted the RSPCA in Whitehaven during November saying he wanted to rehome the family’s Staffordshire bull terrier Keanu.
Graham said it had been sick, losing control of its bowels with weight loss over several months become more rapid after a house move.
“He mentioned the dog was ruining his expensive carpets,” Ayesha Smart, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, told Carlisle Crown Court today.
Graham said he could not take the dog to a vet due to an ongoing dispute. “He had been feeding the dog baby milk and had been putting water in his dry food to fill him up,” said Ms Smart.
Despite the RSPCA offering help, Graham said he no longer wanted the dog which was then visited by a representative of the charity.
“In his words, Keanu was a ‘bag of bones’,” said Ms Smart. Keanu was extremely underweight — weighing just 9.6kg when he should have been 16kg. His bodily condition was poor and he received the lowest assessment score of one out of five.
An expert concluded Keanu was certainly suffering at the time.
As a result, Graham and his partner, 30-year-old Samantha Bagley, were prosecuted and admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
They arrived late for their sentencing hearing today and entered the court dock part-way through the prosecutor’s case opening. The court heard of difficulties in their lives and also of their childcare responsibilities.
Recorder Tony Hawks said to them as he passed sentence: “How the pair of you thought, with these various difficulties, it was a good idea to introduce into your household a Staffordshire bull terrier I have no idea. I suspect that poor decision-making is typical of the way the pair of you live your lives.
“As any normal person understands, taking possession of a dog — or indeed any animal — as a pet is not something that is to be done on a whim. It requires thought, planning and commitment.
“That animal put its trust in the pair of you and you betrayed that trust.”
Graham and Bagley, both of Milton Road, Egremont, were handed six-month jail terms which were suspended for 18 months. Graham, a man with 42 previous offences on his criminal record, was also ordered to undergo probation service rehabilitation.
Both defendants were banned from owning or keeping any animal for 10 years, and prohibited from applying to have that lifted for five years.
Keanu has since been taken into foster care in West Cumbria. His foster carer said after the hearing she had been shocked by the couple’s neglect.
“I couldn’t believe, the state he was in, that he was even still alive,” she said. Keanu was now healthy and enjoyed going out for walks and playing with toys. “He is really, really loving, and loves people,” she added.
After the case, Inspector Fletcher said the charity was always there to help people and their pets.
“The message is that the responsibility of animal ownership if a serious one. When you don’t take that responsibility seriously and don’t seek help when you need it, the consequences can be serious,” he said.
