Pair banned after dog starved
A mother-of-two from Wolverhampton who failed to feed her pedigree dog for at least two months before the starving pet was taken from her home has been banned from keeping animals for 18 years.
Wolverhampton Magistrates Court was shown photographs of the severely emaciated tan-coloured bull mastiff called General, taken at the Bilston home of 20-year-old Niketia Fearon. The dog had lost more than a third of its body weight and its bones were protruding through its skin.
RSPCA inspectors found it following a tip off. The court heard the dog was so dehydrated it had to go on a drip.
In a report about the case, RSPCA inspector Jayne Bashford said she was "appalled" by the appearance of the dog.
Fearon, of Lunt Road, admitted two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog by failing to feed it or address its poor condition.
She claimed her brother had found the dog on a bike track three or four months previously and asked if he could keep it. She had agreed but failed to feed the animal or give it water.
Her brother Aaron, aged 19, of the same address, received a 10-year ban on keeping animals after admitting the same two charges. He also admitted the story about finding the dog was made up.
Both brother and sister claimed they had attempted to contact the RSPCA but were accused by district judge Michael Wilkinson of telling "ludicrous lies".
"It would be impossible to find a less emaciated dog unless it was dead. It is a miracle that the dog survived," he told the pair.
"If it was not for the actions of the RSPCA it would have died a sad and lonely death in a corner of your yard. Anyone looking at these pictures can only feel sympathy and pity for the dog and disgust and outrage for the people who allowed it to get into that state."
He placed them both under a 6pm – 6am curfew for six weeks, and ordered her to pay £750 towards costs and him £250. The dog has been rehomed.
