Dog starved to death as couple went on holiday

A couple starved their dog to death as they went away for a 10-day break, leaving their pet without food or water.

A police officer visited the former home of Samantha Peters and Matthew Murray last October.

The officer attended the property at Lowe Avenue, Wednesbury, following reports that there was a dog alone inside. The home was left unlocked, and the officer went in to find the "severely emaciated" dead dog. Prosecutor Mrs Gaynor Sutton outlined the case at Walsall Magistrates court yesterday.

Mrs Sutton, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said an independent vet who carried out an examination on the bull terrier-type dog's body gave it an emaciation score of 0.5, where one is emaciated and nine is obese, and it weighed 6kg.

Mrs Sutton said police liaised with Walsall Housing Group, which owns the property, to get hold of the holidaying couple. She said: "The officer describes a conversation with Mr Murray and said he was abusive and hung up three times.

"The vet said the dog would have suffered for at least two weeks if fed nothing. If she had been fed an inadequate diet, then the suffering would have been much longer.

They were interviewed under caution by the RSPCA inspector and said they went on holiday."

The pair said they had deliberately left the property unlocked to allow Ms Peters' sister access to check on the house, but she had become ill. Mrs Penny Chapman, defending, said Murray had been given the dog by a friend at a pub one evening when he was drunk, and when Peters had taken her out for a walk she had attacked a neighbour's dog.

She said: "It would appear that they had tried to get someone else to take the dog on and they had rung kennels but when they said the dog was aggressive no-one would accept it.

"They were away slightly longer than they thought they would be, and they are both extremely ashamed."

Peters, aged 24, and Murray, 29, of Hall Street East, Darlaston, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. The case was adjourned until February 7.