A woman has been banned from keeping animals for seven years after her bulldog was found severely underweight and living in a faeces-strewn bathroom in Garston.
Laura Hill, of Windfield Road, appeared for sentencing at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on November 4, having previously been convicted in her absence of an offence under the Animal Welfare Act at a hearing on August 27.
Court sentence and conditions
Hill was handed an 18-month community order, which includes probation supervision and a nine-month drug rehabilitation requirement involving mandatory drug testing. She was also fined £50 and disqualified from keeping animals for seven years.
The court heard how the bulldog, named Little Fella, was found in a severely underweight condition, living in squalid circumstances at Hill's home.
Discovery by electrician
An RSPCA officer had previously advised Hill to take the dog to a vet during a visit in November last year. However, on February 25 this year, a housing association electrician carrying out installation work at the property discovered Little Fella standing in a bathtub in a bathroom covered in faeces and urine. The electrician subsequently reported the conditions to the animal charity.
RSPCA animal rescue officers Fay Bowers and Hana Yen attended the property on March 4, when Hill agreed to allow them to take Little Fella to the RSPCA Greater Manchester Animal Hospital for veterinary assessment.
Veterinary findings and recovery
Officer Bowers told the court that the dog was "very underweight", with his ribcage and the top of his pelvis clearly visible. In a statement presented to the court, she described the conditions in which the animal had been living.
She said: "There were also two sores on the dog’s back end either side of the base of his tail. There was a very strong smell of ammonia inside the bathroom, a puddle of urine in the middle of the floor and several pieces of faeces scattered. There was a small amount of dry food on the floor, no water and no comfortable place to rest.
Hill told the officer that someone had broken into her home and thrown the dog against a wall. She also claimed that Little Fella did not belong to her.
Following his rescue, Little Fella was examined by vets and found to weigh just 21.2kg, significantly below the ideal weight of 28kg for a dog of his size. He was given a body condition score of between one and two out of nine, indicating he was severely underweight. Vets also identified pressure sores on his body and found that his nails were overgrown.
Little Fella was placed on a treatment and feeding plan and responded well to the care he received. By March 25, his weight had increased to 26.2kg.
A veterinary assessment concluded that Hill had failed to meet the dog's welfare needs for at least two weeks by not providing adequate nutrition or a hygienic and comfortable living environment. These conditions had also contributed to the development of his pressure sores.
