Ban for man and woman who abandoned suffering dog at home for family holiday

An Eastbourne man and woman have been disqualified from owning animals and given suspended jail terms after leaving their elderly pet boxer dog home alone while they went on holiday, and for failing to seek veterinary treatment for him.

Keith Byrne and Sophie Singer, have been sentenced on the 22 April at Lewes Crown Court, after being found guilty of three Animal Welfare Act offences in their absence at an earlier hearing. 

The pair left their pet boxer dog ‘Bentley’ home alone in a terrible condition to go on a family holiday, and concerned neighbours contacted the RSPCA for help, after desperately trying to provide the dog with food.

The pair had claimed they loved the dog, and blamed his ailing health on his age - but the Judge said the pair had behaved "appallingly".

After disqualifying both Byrne and Singer from owning all animals for five years, with no appeal for three years, Judge Laing KC said: “[The dog’s] ribs and pelvis were plain for anyone to see, his skin was in a terrible state and you could not have failed to miss these factors. You have stated some bizarre reasoning which you insist upon in your defence. This is a ridiculous account and this dog was clearly suffering substantially. You have behaved appallingly and I'm at a loss to understand how you could let this happen.”

Keith Byrne was sentenced to nine months custody, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.

Sophie Singer was sentenced to six months custody, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. 

Both were ordered to pay £350 costs.

The RSPCA was alerted to the abandoned dog by neighbours, and Inspector Tony Woodley attended the address to find the front door was ajar and the poor dog was in a collapsed state at the foot of the stairs. 

In his witness statement, Inspector Woodley said: “I stepped to the base of the stairs and could see the dog, a tan coloured boxer type dog. The dog was emaciated and I was not sure it was alive. I touched the dog’s face and he twitched. I immediately dialled 999 and was given permission to remove the dog for emergency treatment. 

“I saw some food at the base of the stairs and a bowl of water. The other residents of nearby properties advised me that they had placed the food and water for the dog. I saw that the dog’s ribs, hips and spine were prominent and the nails on its paws were extremely overgrown and curling around. The dog’s eyes were sunken.”

Inspector Woodley contacted Bentley’s owners who confirmed they were away on a family holiday at Centre Parcs.

Despite the best efforts of a veterinary team, Bentley died at the veterinary practice.

In their witness statement, the vet said: “Due to Bentley’s severely emaciated condition I believe he was not being provided a suitable diet. The chronic skin changes and severe ear infection would certainly have caused discomfort and the severely overgrown nails would have made it difficult for him to walk without pain or difficulty. I do believe these ailments would have caused Bentley to suffer for a long period of time before his death. The nails were overgrown to a level I would not expect to see unless the patient had many months of neglect and lack of activity. 

“I believe Bentley was not being provided with basic welfare needs and was allowed to suffer unnecessarily prior to his demise for a period in excess of four weeks.”

A full post mortem was carried out and found that Bentley was in “extremely poor body condition”, while his “stomach contained a large amount of rubbish, including numerous food wrappers and a felt pen, which may have been present for sometime and are indicative of scavenging due to hunger”. 

The veterinary pathologist continued, “the most likely cause of the emaciation was inadequate access to food, i.e. starvation”. The dog had “pressure sores over the elbows and ankles, large areas of alopecia, overgrown claws and bilateral, waxy and crusting ears”. The dog was also found to have a “lower bowel perforation” caused by “movement of the foreign body through the upper intestine”. 

After sentencing, Inspector Woodley said: “This poor dog was suffering in pain while his owners, who had left him, went on a family holiday. The RSPCA thanks nearby residents for alerting us of this dog’s sad plight and through our actions with the support of Sussex Police we were able to get Bentley to a vet, although sadly we could not save him.

“The owners of the dog had clearly failed to provide for Bentley and the claim that he was “old and tired” does not excuse the suffering he was caused through the inactions of Byrne and Singer”

“This case should be seen as a clear warning that just because an animal is old this does not mean that an owner has an excuse not to provide it with basic care and veterinary treatment.”