Dog left to die after giving birth to 16 puppies

Usman Khalid, aged 25, of Old Park Road, Wednesbury, will also have to undertake 200 hours of community service and 15 days of rehabilitation after being convicted of two animal cruelty offences at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court.

Jinx, a Dogue de Bordeaux cross-type dog, was confined to a kennel and was so ill she was unable to stand after giving birth.

She was severely underweight, had diarrhoea and her mammary glands were ulcerated meaning she could not feed her children the milk they needed to survive.

When members of the public visited Khalid's home they found Jinx "laying motionless in the kennel only moving her eyes and crying".

The concerned residents, who described the dog as "just skin and bones", tried to pick her up but she screamed and had a fit, dying in their arms moments later.

Residents were alerted to Jinx's condition after seeing the poor health of one of her puppies Winnie, who had been rehomed by someone they knew.

Three weeks of suffering

The puppies were born on July 23 2017 with Khalid's home being visited on August 13, meaning Jinx was suffering for nearly three weeks.

The bodies of her 15 other puppies, three of which were still-born, have never been found but Winnie survived against the odds and has now made a full recovery.

The RSPCA were contacted after Jinx's body and puppy Winnie were taken to a local vet.

Inspector Nicola Johnson, who took Winnie in to hand-rear her and help her recover, said: “When I saw Jinx’s body it was quite clear she was emaciated with her ribs clearly visible and she had awful ulcers on her mammary glands which would have been very painful.

“If she was taken for treatment when the problem first arose I am in no doubt she would have have survived. As we never found the puppies we were unable to establish how they died.

“This has been a terribly upsetting case to deal with but I would like to say a huge thank you to the members of the public who got involved by trying to help the mum and pup, alerting us to what they had found and bravely giving evidence in court which meant we could get some justice for Jinx and helped her pup Winnie survive.”

Criminal charges

The RSPCA pressed for criminal actions against Khalid, who was charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a dog and failing to ensure that the needs of a dog were met.

He pleaded not guilty but was convicted of both offences after a trial.

District Judge Webster, who sentenced him last week, said: “It was overwhelmingly evident that there was a lack of concern for the animals. I do not accept that Mr Khalid cared and tendered to Jinx and her puppies.”

He added that “he found it hard to see how this animal could have suffered more”.