Edward Stokes, of Woodrush Close, Beanhill, Milton Keynes appeared before Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court on Monday 11 November for sentencing.
He had been found guilty at an earlier trial of causing unnecessary suffering to a spaniel type female dog called Puppy2 by failing to provide proper and necessary veterinary care and attention for her chronic skin condition. The defendant was given a lifetime disqualification from owning all animals which he can’t appeal for five years. He was also ordered to carry out a 12 month community order - of 10 Rehabilitation Action Requirement days and a 12 month mental health treatment requirement and pay £300 costs.
Puppy2 had been found straying by a member of the public in July 2023 and was taken to a vets for treatment. She had been found in the area near where the defendant lived and was also microchipped to the defendant. Inspector Andy Eddy had also seen the same dog previously at the defendant’s address during a welfare check. Puppy2 was found straying and was in a “terrible state” and a vet certified that she was suffering. She was underweight and scratching all the time and her skin was red and her fur patchy. Inspector Eddy said she had open wounds and scabs from scratching on legs, face and neck. A vet who examined her diagnosed she had mange and she was given treatment for it. She also appeared she had pups, and it was likely this had been recently.
In a vet report the court heard that the dog was suffering - her skin was so itchy that she was causing significant trauma to herself. It was their view she had been suffering for at least a month. A vet report said the dog was suffering so much it was causing her to scratch herself to the extent that she was causing serious harm to herself and she had open sores and wounds on her limbs, face and body all of which would have been causing her pain. Speaking after the case the inspector said: “The vets stated that the prognosis for mange is good once treatment is started and it is a curable condition and relatively easy to treat if caught early - mite infestation is not only a curable disease but a preventable one - and the owner should have sought treatment for this condition. “Thankfully with the right treatment the friendly spaniel recovered well and she has now been rehomed.” The defendant had denied he was the owner of the dog and said that he had rehomed her.
