Mia De Merzo, the Bucknall Animal and Child Abuser, confined her 13-year-old dog in her bathroom for five days without food or water while she was absent from the residence in a deliberate attempt to starve the animal.
Mia De Merzo, 26, abandoned American Bulldog Zara at the residence on Heming Place, Bucknall.
The court was informed that police officers arrived at the residence for an unrelated issue and discovered the emaciated dog in the toilet, which was in deplorable conditions and surrounded by faeces.
Mia De Merzo lied that she had confined the dog to the bathroom to provide it access to water from the toilet, and she stated that she was tossing food through the window for its consumption. However, no evidence substantiated that claim.
Police officers transported the dog to a veterinarian, where it is reportedly recovering well.
The court was informed that Mia De Merzo made complete admissions at the time of her arrest. She has been prohibited from possessing pets for a duration of five years.
Lee Stone, prosecuting, said: “These matters go back to April 16 this year when officers attended Heming Place for unrelated matters, but noted the property was not in a good state and there was a dog there in an emaciated state, living in squalid conditions, with no food or water. It was living in its own faeces and was kept in a bathroom.
It was clear this wasn’t something that had happened overnight because the state of the property and the state the dog was in led them to believe it had been there for some time.
“Police officers took the dog to the vets. The defendant, Mia De Merzo, returned to the address, and officers arrested her for cruelty offences.
She was candid and said she was responsible for Zara, and she had had the dog for a number of years, but due to domestic issues, she wasn’t coming back to the address.
Mia De Merzo said she hadn’t come back to feed the dog or had her rehomed. This was a long-term incident involving this dog. This was a prolonged incident of cruelty and neglect.”
She was handed a community order, which includes 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days. She was also ordered to pay an £80 fine, £85 costs and a £114 surcharge
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