Indefinite animal ban for North Yorkshire woman who starved her puppy to death

'Severe suffering' was inflicted on a puppy for at least a month after she was starved to death by her owner, a court has been told.

Joey, a female chihuahua/shih tzu cross aged about eight months, was found dead in a crate in the rear garden of a property in Goldsborough near Harrogate by an RSPCA inspector after the charity had received a call about a deceased dog.

Her owner Dazie Howe (DoB 18/12/98) had initially claimed her pet had been euthanised at a veterinary practice and then reappeared in the crate outside her property, before later changing her recollection to say Joey had died of a seizure. 

At a sentencing hearing at York Magistrates Court on Friday (1 November), Howe was disqualified from keeping all animals for an indefinite period following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA. At an earlier hearing, she had pleaded guilty to one offence contrary to the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Magistrates were told that RSPCA Inspector Rowena Proctor had gone to Howe's address in Lascelles Place on 18 February this year and found Joey deceased in a closed crate, covered in a Christmas blanket, which was sodden with piles of faeces and urine.  

In her written evidence to the court the Inspector said: "Before I had even explained why I was there, Howe immediately started to say 'that dog is not mine, I don't even know if it is a dog or how it got there, but my dog died and that isn't her.'

"By the gate was a medium-sized dog crate with a green fleece Christmas blanket draped over the top. I lifted the blanket, and inside was a thick yellow pet bed, a large grey plastic bowl with dirty water, numerous piles of faeces, what appeared to be urine puddles and a very small deceased black dog. 

"The smell from inside of the cage was extremely unpleasant - a mixture of the dead dog and the faeces and urine inside the crate. As I took photos Ms Howe stood beside me telling me how her dog, Joey, had died at the vet and asked me if the 'thing' in the crate was a dog.

"I used a towel to pick the dog up and placed the body in my van. The dog appeared extremely thin with ribs, pelvis and spine protruding. Maggots were crawling around near her tail."

A scan for a microchip revealed that the puppy was called Joey and Howe was registered as the owner. The court was told she again reiterated that the dog didn't belong to her, she didn't want 'it' and the Inspector could 'keep it.'  

A post-mortem was carried out to establish the cause of death. It showed that Joey had a prominent skeleton and her shoulder, ribs, hind limb bones and pelvis were visible through the skin. Her stomach was empty of food contents and showed haemorrhages - bleeds within the surface of the stomach lining - which are a frequent finding in starved dogs.

Her small intestine had a scant amount of digesta which contradicted Howe's report of having fed Joey on the morning of her death.

A vet who gave written evidence in the case after reviewing the findings of the post-mortem said: "From the evidence provided to me it is my opinion that Joey was caused to suffer through starvation. There was no intervention and irreversible, irretrievable damage occurred which led to her death.

"The suffering was entirely avoidable if her needs had been met. If her owner was no longer able to provide for her, her duty and responsibility was to find someone who was able to do so.

"The prolonged suffering was over a minimum of a month and likely longer. If she was ever in a healthy body condition it would have taken at least four weeks to reach the very poor body condition her body was found in.

"The distress at being unable to find food would have progressed to hunger pains, abdominal cramps, fat breakdown with toxin release, muscle metabolism with pain and then progressing to weakness, lethargy, collapse, coma and death.

"This extremely distressing case shows the pleasure of owning a new puppy quickly turning to neglectful cruelty inflicting severe suffering and ultimately loss of life."

Photographs on Howe's mobile phone from the breeder who sold Joey showed a previously alert puppy with a shiny coat.

Howe was first interviewed by Inspector Proctor on the day Joey's body was found. She said she didn't know who had put the puppy in her garden and she was 'baffled' about the situation as her dog was 'fat,' 'like a balloon,' and this one was 'skin and bones.'

Asked about the dirty crate, Howe said she had kept it in her kitchen to take out to the shed and had scooped up a bag of faeces with a shovel and put it inside, but the wind must have blown the bag away and scattered the waste. She said there was no dog inside when she put the crate in her garden and that everything in it belonged to her, except Joey. 

On 1 March she was interviewed again after contacting the RSPCA to say she wanted to change her record of events. This time she claimed Joey had died as a result of a seizure. 

Howe, who will not be able to contest her ban for ten years, was also given an 18-month community order with a requirement to carry out 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.

Speaking after the conclusion of the case Inspector Proctor said the investigation had been extremely upsetting. "Joey was a tiny dog who wasn't even fully grown and she would have only required a small amount of nutrition to keep her alive. But food wasn't provided, and locked in a crate she had no opportunity to fend for herself either.

"Howe continuously changed her story throughout the investigation and never admitted to letting little Joey down until she was in court. The indefinite ban imposed by the magistrates sends out a clear message to people who inflict severe neglect and suffering on their pets."