A COUPLE have been jailed for leaving their elderly dog to suffer from a painful leg injury for more than three years.

Sophia Koch. 29, and Adrian Wilkie, 31, both of Trafalgar Square, Scarborough, appeared beforeYork magistrates having been arrested after failing to appear at court for a previous hearing.

They pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to Zeus, an 11-year-old akita. Koche was sentenced to a 12-weeks and Wilkie received 18 weeks. Both were disqualified from keeping animals indefinitely.

Zeus was taken into RSPCA care and received treatment for his leg injury and resulting arthritis. However he was later put to sleep when his general health began to deteriorate.