A 30-year-old woman from Liverpool has received a 10-year animal disqualification order and a community sentence at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court after leaving two young dogs severely malnourished and starved.
Danielle Southern, of Saunby Close, Garston, appeared for sentence after entering guilty pleas to two animal welfare offences relating to the neglect of two young dogs under her care.
The prosecution outlined that an RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer attended Southern’s home on 10 February following welfare reports from concerned parties. Upon arrival, the officer discovered a two-year-old French Bulldog named Benji and a one-year-old Bichon Frise named Pixie in an appalling state of physical decline. Southern indicated that she wanted help and wished to have the dogs rehomed, signing both animals into the legal care of the charity.
Subsequent veterinary examinations demonstrated severe, prolonged neglect. Both animals scored just one out of nine on the professional veterinary body condition scale, representing the lowest rating possible and denoting extreme emaciation.
Photographs presented to the court illustrated the extent of Benji’s starvation. His ribs stood out starkly through his coat, his waist was severely pinched, and both his backbone and hip bones were sharply defined, with the wasting being particularly evident from above and behind. He weighed just 5.3 kilograms. The examining veterinary surgeon concluded that Benji had been starved over a prolonged duration, also recording an open wound on the dog’s tail and persistent skin issues surrounding his ears.
Pixie, aged just one year, weighed only 2.9 kilograms upon rescue. Her coat consisted of dense, filthy, and tangled clumps with severe matting around her ears, head, and legs, alongside dark staining and embedded debris across her abdomen. The heavy matting concealed the severity of her emaciation until physical examination revealed her ribs protruding with no subcutaneous fat layer. Pixie had to be sedated to allow veterinary staff to clip away the painful, matted fur. Following clinical tests, vets discovered advanced liver disease and concluded that humane euthanasia was the only viable option to prevent further suffering.
Benji was subsequently placed into RSPCA foster care, where he received intensive treatment for parvovirus. He survived the illness, achieved a healthy body weight, and has since been permanently rehomed.
Passing sentence, the magistrates addressed the severe neglect and starvation suffered by both animals. The court handed Southern an 18-month community order requiring the completion of 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days, alongside an order to pay £500 in court costs.
To protect other animals from future neglect, the court imposed a 10-year animal disqualification order, barring Southern from owning, keeping, or participating in the keeping of animals for the next decade.
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
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