A hair band left Pippa days from death

Pippa had an elastic hair band put around her neck, and could have been "days from death".

An act of deliberate cruelty
 

Vets were shocked when Pippa, a female-black-Labrador, was brought into their surgery with a horrific wound covering two thirds of her neck. A hair band, which is thought to have been put around Pippa’s neck deliberately, had embedded itself so deep into her neck it was millimetres away from causing Pippa to die.

The vet was able to remove the band, which revealved a large and infected wound, which in places was 3.5cm deep. The vet stated it would not have been possible for such a small band to end up around Pippa’s neck without a human hand. The wound would have taken 3-4 days to develop and should have been noticed and treated sooner.

RSPCA Inspector Nicky Foster was shocked when she first saw Pippa saying: 

It was horrific - I've never seen anything like it. We see tethering injuries on dogs from collars and things that are too tight but for something like this - it was an elasticated hair band that has clearly deliberately been put on this dog's neck, for whatever reason we don't know, and that's caused these injuries.

 

In interview Pippa's owner denied any wrong doing. When asked about the smell of the wound the woman said she had not noticed as she was “on the drink”. She showed no remorse and refused to sign Pippa into our care

At trial she was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to Pippa by failing to seek veterinary assistance and not taking such steps as were reasonable to ensure that Pippa’s needs were met.

The woman was disqualified from keeping animals for life. She received an 18 month community order, was ordered to comply with a specified activity order of 20 days and ordered to pay £250 costs.

A deprivation order was given for Pippa enabling her to be put up for rehoming.

 

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