A woman who left her dog and cat starve at her Cardiff home has been banned from keeping animals for three years.
Chloe Britton of Cardiff, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and appeared for sentencing at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on October 10 this year. As well as the disqualification, Britton was handed a 12-month community order under which she has to complete 20 Rehabilitation Activity (RAR) days and fined £40.
RSPCA Inspector Emma Smith found a dachshund called Woody and a cat called Ginge both in an emaciated state when she went to Britton’s home on separate occasions on January 14 and March 26 this year.
The charity was first alerted to the plight of the dogs and cat after reports that animals were being left unattended, although the defendant claimed that while she was living away she went back and forth to the property on a regular basis.
When the inspector visited in January, she found Woody and another dog, a French bulldog called Hugo in a conservatory. While Hugo was in a “reasonable” body condition, Woody was extremely emaciated and the inspector said in a statement presented to the court: “Every bone was visible, including the shape of his skull. He had no muscle or fat coverage and his fur was thinning on his head.
“I saw Hugo eat a lump of faeces and he seemed hungry, sniffing around the property. While the dogs had access to a saucepan which contained some water, there was no food present for them and there were puddles of urine and piles of faeces on the conservatory floor.
“The smell was overwhelming and my eyes and nose burnt from the volume of ammonia.”
The dogs were taken to a vet to be assessed after Britton, who admitted she had not been at the property for two days, signed them over into the care of the RSPCA.
When the inspector revisited Britton’s home more than two months later she found Ginge on the doorstep crying in distress. As the defendant was not at home and could not be contacted by phone she took the cat to be checked out by a vet.
The inspector added: “The cat was crying and I could see he had lost a lot of weight since I last saw him in January. He was alarmingly thin with his spine and pelvis bones easily visible through his coat. He seemed wobbly when he was walking.”
On April 5 the inspector returned to the address when she spoke to the defendant who confirmed she had seen the notice explaining why Ginge was in the care of the RSPCA, but she said “she hadn’t felt able to call” the charity.
A vet who examined the dogs said that Woody had severe muscle loss and he was scored one out of nine on a Body Condition Score (BCS) (when five is a normal healthy weight). The vet also confirmed Ginge was emaciated (also with a BCS of one out of nine). The cat, he said, was ravenous when he was presented with food.
In mitigation, the court was told that Britton has learning difficulties and had suffered two strokes last year. She was said to be “fearful” of returning to the property because of concerns over domestic violence.
The defendant also was told to pay £400 court costs and a victim surcharge of £114.
Woody and Ginge put on weight in the care of the RSPCA and have since made a good recovery. Both Woody and Hugo have been rehomed to loving owners and now the animal charity will find a new home for Ginge.
Speaking after the sentencing, Inspector Smith said: “All three of these animals suffered as a result of the defendant’s lack of care. They were left in appalling living conditions without food, but fortunately we were alerted to their plight and we were able to get them into our care in time. We are always grateful for the public’s vigilance which can alert us to cases like this where animals are suffering.
