Hednesford nurse's dog put down after disease ignored
A nurse failed to take her dog for treatment for a skin disease so severe the pet had to be put down after eight weeks of suffering, a court heard.
Christine Smith, from Hednesford, allowed her Collie dog Lucy's skin condition to get so bad a vet described it as the worst he had ever seen in his career. She was due to be sentenced today.
It was only after Smith's son finally took the 12-year-old pet to the vet that the extent of the dog's suffering was discovered. Lucy had been left lame by the condition.
Mr Roger Price, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA at Stafford Magistrates Court yesterday, said Smith would have been aware of the condition as in 2009 Lucy had suffered a similar problem. He said at that time she had taken her to the vets and the condition had cleared up after a course of antibiotics.
"This is a dog which suffered severely from a condition called deep pyoderma. It is caused when the dog is bitten by a flea and the skin becomes infected," he said.
"The dog was evaluated by the vet and it was so bad there was pus under the skin. It was agreed she would be euthanised." Mr Price said the dog was assessed by vet David Martin. "He said it was the worst untreated skin infection he had ever seen as a vet," he said.
Mr Price said the condition had been obvious. The court heard Smith told RSPCA officers she had tried to treat it herself with antiseptic creams but had been scared that if the dog went to the vets, she "wouldn't be coming back".
Smith, aged 50, of Maycroft Close in Hednesford, had previously been found guilty in her absence of a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, and another of being a person responsible for an animal and failing to ensure its welfare between June and August last year.
No mitigation was offered as a probation report was ordered. Smith was granted unconditional bail and told to appear at Cannock Magistrates Court today for sentence.
