MAGISTRATES banned a woman from keeping animals for three years after her dog's eye had to be removed when an injury went untreated.
Dog owner Sybil Smith, 46, from Adamson Street, Shildon, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing unnecessary suffering to her Japanese Chin dog, which had been bitten by a stray and suffered a bad infection.
At Bishop Auckland magistrates court on Monday, prosecution solicitor Kevin Campbell said an RSPCA inspector found the dog's eye was apparently out of its socket and caked with pus. It also had a severe flea infestation.
Smith had told the RSPCA inspector she had taken the dog to a vet, but checks revealed this to be untrue.
Smith was given a 12-month probation order and disqualified for three years from keeping animals. She was not ordered to pay court costs
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