Dog owner failed to get help for his injured terrier

A dog owner failed to seek immediate veterinary treatment for his pet's fractured leg after he claimed the animal had been run over by a car, a court heard.

Giles Campbell, of Darlaston,was prosecuted by the RSPCA for causing unnecessary suffering to the animal, which had only been in his care for a matter of days.

Animal welfare officer Boris Lasserre visited the 41-year-old's address in Wolverhampton Street on December 2 last year following an anonymous call from a member of the public.

Mrs Gaynor Sutton, prosecuting, said the Staffordshire bull terrier, named Tiger, had a swollen front left leg.

Walsall Magistrates Court heard Campbell told the officer the dog had been "knocked over" by a car.

Mr Lasserre took the animal to see a vet who found the four-month-old dog's leg to be "completely lame".

X-rays were taken which showed the dogs leg to be fractured and the vet recommended surgery.

Mrs Sutton said: "It was estimated the fracture had been present for five to seven days.

"With any bone fracture there will be pain. The dog will have been through suffering and distress and should have been presented to a vet."

Mrs Sutton said when Campbell was interviewed he claimed the accident had happened after he left the dog with a friend.

She said Campbell claimed to have taken the dog to a vets in Darlaston four or five days after the incident, but was told to go to a vets in Wolverhampton instead.

Mrs Sutton said when asked whether he thought the dog had been suffering, he replied: "It was kind of weeping and crying."

Campbell failed to appear at the hearing yesterday and the case was proved in his absence. An arrest warrant was issued and he will be sentenced at a later date.