Man banned from keeping animals after Staffie was suffering from severe ear injury

An owner of three Staffordshire Bull Terriers in Manchester has admitted to animal welfare offences and has been disqualified from keeping animals for five years.

Dean Kenneth Savage (DOB: 26/04/1979) of Crescent Road, Manchester was sentenced at Manchester Magistrates Court on 19 November, in a case brought by the RSPCA.

At an earlier hearing, Savage admitted two offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, including causing Harley to suffer by failing to provide her with veterinary treatment for a serious injury to her ear and failing to meet the needs of his two other dogs, Joker and Snowflake.

The District Judge disqualified Savage from owning all animals for five years, and sentenced him to a 12 month community order where he is required to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and attend 15 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days. He is also ordered to pay £400 in costs.

The RSPCA attended Savage's flat on 25 May 2023, after receiving reports about a dog with a severe ear injury. 

The court heard that the dogs were kept in an unhygienic environment and were not provided with clean water or a comfortable, dry place to rest. In addition, Savage failed to separate the dogs to prevent fighting as necessary and didn't provide veterinary treatment for the dogs when required.

Animal Rescue Officer Steve Wickham described in his witness statement the moment he first saw the wound to Harley's ear when Dean Savage brought her out into the garden: "Once the dog was out in the daylight I was shocked by what I could see. The left ear was just hanging on by a very small amount of skin and as I took a closer look at it I could see the ear canal opening, there was a lot of fresh blood and dried blood as well. The dog was in a lot of discomfort and shaking its head a lot and as she shook her head spots of blood were being flicked everywhere."

ARO Wickham had concerns for the other two dogs at the property, Joker and Snowflake, due to the environment they were being kept in. 

In his witness statement, he described Savage's flat: "Inside the front room there was a dog cage which [the dogs] have been looked up in with lots of ripped up rubbish and bedding in it, the room also had lots of rubbish smell of urine and dog faeces as well as a sofa which looked to have been chewed up. Joker was locked in the bathroom with a child gate so couldn't get out of there. In the bathroom was ripped up toilet paper and other stuff on the floor as well as a smell of dog urine coming from in there."

Savage permitted ARO Wickham to take Harley to RSPCA Greater Manchester Animal Hospital for immediate care. The following day (26 May) RSPCA Inspector Deborah Beats returned to Savage's flat to check on Joker and Snowflake's welfare, and Savage agreed for the two dogs to be taken to a vet to be examined. 

Staff at the vet found both Joker and Snowflake to have multiple scars and wounds on their legs, face and neck, and following this, Great Manchester Police placed both dogs under the care of the RSPCA.

In their witness statement, the vet described how the deep lacerations to Harley's ear caused her to suffer.

They said: "Given the severity of [Harley's] condition on presentation, in my opinion, she would have suffered with these injuries for a minimum period of several days, however, they may have occurred at an earlier time point.

"The chronicity of these injuries is denoted by the severity of the infection, smell, purulent discharge and necrotic (decaying) tissue present. These will have been extremely painful, especially the deep lacerations to the left ear. The injuries look as if they were inflicted by another dog. [Harley] was showing discomfort, shaking her head which in turn was making the wounds continue to bleed. Ultimately she had endured suffering unnecessarily. 

"Regardless of the cause of the multiple puncture wounds and lacerations, veterinary advice and treatment should have been considered much earlier in this case."

All three dogs were signed over to the care of the RSPCA. Harley was cared for by RSPCA Warrington, Halton and St Helens Branch in Cheshire, where she found a loving new home with a family who describes her as 'an absolute superstar and a joy to have in our family.'

Snowflake and Joker have also been found loving new homes through RSPCA Southport, Ormskirk & District branch.

After sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Deborah Beats said: "It was very tough to see Harley with such a horrible injury, and for all three dogs to be living in such bad conditions, but I'm delighted that we could secure such a positive future for these dogs."