Thomas Buckworth, aged 23, of Premier Road, Ormesby, Middlesbrough, has received a suspended custodial sentence and a 10-year animal disqualification order after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
The prosecution, brought by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), followed an incident on 5 November 2025 when Buckworth’s one-year-old female Cavalier King Charles spaniel, named Maggie, was brought into a veterinary surgery in an acutely collapsed state.
Veterinary staff reported that the puppy was severely emaciated, soaked wet, and had dried faecal matter matted deeply into her coat, predominantly around her right ear. Her head was infested with mites, and pressure sores had developed on her right elbow. Maggie was observed to be almost motionless, able only to raise her head every few seconds while emitting a continuous howl of distress, with fixed eyes and agonal breathing patterns indicating imminent death.
Due to the irreversible state of neglect and physical deterioration, veterinary surgeons concluded that euthanasia was the only humane course of action to relieve her suffering.
A subsequent post-mortem examination confirmed that Maggie suffered from chronic, long-term caloric deprivation. Pathologists identified profound and widespread muscle wasting with a complete absence of visible body fat, concluding that the animal had been denied basic nutritional sustenance over an extended period.
Appearing at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on 15 September, Buckworth entered a formal guilty plea to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The magistrates sentenced Buckworth to 15 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for a period of two years. Buckworth was also made subject to a disqualification order under Section 34 of the Animal Welfare Act, banning him from owning, keeping, or participating in the keeping of any animal for 10 years, with a minimum non-challenge period of eight years. He was further ordered to pay £1,082 in court costs and veterinary compensation fees.
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
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