Five-year animal ban for woman who starved dog

A woman has been banned from keeping animals for five years after her pet dog was starved.

Julie Kavanagh was sentenced at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court on Tuesday 6 August after pleading guilty to an offence of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

As well as the five-year ban on keeping animals, Kavanagh was handed a 12-month community order to include 60 hours of unpaid work, and told to pay costs of £146 and a £114 victim surcharge.

The court heard that an RSPCA Inspector visited Kavanagh's property on 26 January this year after the charity received a report about concerns for her dog, a Staffordshire bull terrier named Missy.

RSPCA Inspector Keogh said in a statement, which was presented to the court, that on seeing Missy she could immediately see her hips, ribs, and spine and that her bones were "very prominent".

Her statement continued: "I asked if Missy had seen a vet recently and Julie Kavanagh confirmed she had not seen a vet."

Inspector Keogh took two-year-old Missy to a vet, who confirmed that the dog was suffering.

The vet said in a statement: "It is my opinion that the dog Missy had a poor body condition due to not being provided with food. The dog had been starved."

The vet added that the clinical examination showed Missy had a poor body condition score of one out of nine and that she had muscle loss throughout her whole body. She weighed 9kg when she should have weighed around 15kg.

"Food was provided for Missy and this was eaten without any difficulty, showing good ability to consume food when provided. The dog appeared clinically healthy and able to consume food. Therefore the assumption can be made that the dog was deprived of food for a prolonged period resulting in the seen weight loss.

"The dog suffered through the mechanism of starvation and malnourishment. This is a painful and prolonged process in which physical and mental strain would have been immense. The length of suffering had likely been ongoing for three months, if not longer."

Missy has since made a full recovery.

Inspector Keogh said, after the sentencing: "Missy was left to suffer because she wasn't being provided with a basic right which is food, which led to her being starved and losing muscle. Pet owners have a responsibility by law to ensure their pet is well cared for. I'm just pleased that Missy made a full recovery from this."