A woman from Pontypridd has been banned from keeping animals for ten years after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to her dog, and failing to meet the animal’s needs.
Joanne Ridgeway of Pontypridd, was also handed a two-year community order and a 20 day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR), and must pay a victim surcharge of £114, costs totalling £1,023 and a £50 fine.
The court heard that in October 2023, an RSPCA Animal Welfare Officer visited a property in Ynys Close, Pontypridd in response to welfare concerns reported to the charity about a dog at the address. The dog’s owner – Ridgeway – allowed the officer to check the dog’s condition.
Autumn – a female brindle coloured, cross breed dog, aged between six and eight months appeared quite thin, and the RSPCA officer advised Ridgeway to increase her food intake and to seek vet advice if the dog’s condition deteriorated further.
Ridgeway was advised that if she got to a stage where she wants help or wants to rehome Autumn then she should contact the RSPCA and ask for assistance.
Later in the year, on 23 December, a stray dog was brought into Maes Glas Vets in Brackla, Bridgend by Hope Rescue. Information received revealed that the dog was Autumn. The vet who examined her – Dr Álvaro de Jesús Mena Ramírez – found that she was emaciated, her spine, hip bones and ribs were clearly visible and she had the lowest possible body condition score.
Dr Ramirez said: “[Autumn] was also covered in fleas and there was a thick, white discharge in her left eye. When presented with food she ate hurriedly.”
The vet added that Autumn was in a ‘suffering state’ and that he believed that she would have been suffering for a minimum of three weeks – but maybe longer – to become that thin. This would suggest that, contrary to the Animal Welfare Act, the owner caused unnecessary suffering to Autumn and failed to meet her needs.
The veterinary practice treated Autumn for fleas and for her infected eye. She was also fed a diet of small but frequent meals. She soon gained weight and after the statutory seven days through the stray dog system at Hope Rescue, she was very happily rehomed.
