North East man given animal ban after dog euthanised

A North East man has been given a ten-year animal ban and a suspended jail sentence after his young dog was taken to the vet in such a state that it had to be euthanised.

Thomas Buckworth, 23, of Premier Road, Ormesby, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to one offence relating to his one-year-old cavalier spaniel, Maggie, in a case brought by the RSPCA.

The RSPCA investigated after Maggie was presented to a vet on November 5 last year, emaciated and close to death.

The vet reported that she didn’t move apart from her head, which lifted slightly every few seconds, when she repeated a “haunting, howling noise”, with fixed eyes, and “gasping almost agonal breaths”.

Maggie the puppy (Image: RSPCA)

Her head was also covered in mites, and she had pressure sores on her right elbow.

She was also described as “soaking” wet, with matted, dry faeces in her coat, especially around her right ear.

The vet advised that Maggie was dying and the decision was made to euthanise her to end her suffering.

Findings from a post-mortem included a “diffuse reduction in muscle mass and lack of visible adipose tissue [body fat], likely caused by prolonged malnutrition.

The report concluded that Maggie had a prolonged period where the calorie intake was too low for her needs.

Buckworth was sentenced to 15 weeks' imprisonment, suspended for two years, and was also given a 10-year ban on keeping all animals, which he cannot contest for eight years, when he appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on September 15.

He was also ordered to pay £1,082 in legal fees and vet’s fees.

After sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Natalie Hill said: “This was a very upsetting case.

"Poor Maggie had clearly been suffering for some time, as evidenced by the condition she was in when she was taken to the vets.

“It is heartbreaking to think of any animal suffering in this way, and there is simply no reason for it to ever reach this stage.”