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A woman has been banned from keeping animals after starving her dog and failing to seek treatment. The bull terrier, named Bella, was found after two RSPCA inspectors were called to reports that a dog had been taken off its owner in Farnworth by a member of the public but later died. Nearly two years on Wigan and Leigh Magistrates Court heard how Bella was found in a very poor state.
In a written statement, RSPCA Inspector Deborah Beats, said: “I was shown through to the garden where a deceased dog was wrapped in black bin bags. “I was told the dog called Bella had died at around 4am that morning. Bella was found in an emaciated state (Image: RSPCA) “They had taken her to the vets at approximately 6pm the day before.
” The inspector was then told that the dog had belonged to Paige Poole, 23, who was visited at her house by the RSPCA that same day. She told them Bella was last in her care “months ago” and she hadn’t seen the dog for a couple of weeks until she was “dumped” on her doorstep on Sunday night. Bella’s body was taken to the RSPCA’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital to be examined and was later sent away for a post-mortem.
The dog was also scanned for a microchip which showed Poole was the registered keeper. The vet who examined Bella said she weighed 10.3kg and had a body condition score of 1.
5 out of nine on a scale where one is emaciated and nine is obese. She said there was little fat under the skin or within the abdomen surrounding the abdominal organs and there was also evidence of muscle atrophy. This resulted in Bella's ribs, shoulder blades and pelvis being easily visible without their usual covering of muscle and fat.
A post-mortem was carried out as it could not be determined from an external examination how she had died. The pathology report showed there was a large linear foreign body within a section of Bella’s small intestine. This had caused bunching of the intestine within the abdomen, plus erosions and ulceration.
The court was told that when there is an obstruction in the gastrointestinal tract, fluid can accumulate behind the obstruction and back up into the stomach, leading to vomiting. In this case Bella had then inhaled some of the vomited material and it was the pathologist’s opinion that this aspiration occurred at the time of death. The post-mortem report said that animals who are experiencing malnutrition are sometimes known to eat non-food items.
It concluded that Bella had died due to acute obstruction of her gastrointestinal tract due to ingestion of a foreign body which ultimately led to septic shock and death. It said there was no clear reason for her poor body condition - leaving starvation as the most likely cause. In her written evidence, the vet said: “The duration of the suffering due to starvation will be a minimum of three weeks but potentially much longer.
“It cannot be known from the pathology report or the limited history for Bella whether this suffering was due to inadequate provision of calories/nutrients or whether there were other contributing factors such as other competition for food from other animals in the dog’s environment. “Regardless, a dog which is losing weight to the point of emaciation should prompt a responsible owner to seek urgent veterinary advice and care and therefore avoid/reduce further suffering.” When Poole was interviewed by Inspector Beats she acknowledged that she owned Bella and was responsible for her but said someone else had let her get into that condition .
ALSO READ: Pet owner banned from keeping animals after dog left untreated for weeks ALSO READ: Dog found dead in Bolton reservoir in 'suspicious circumstances' ALSO READ: Woman banned from keeping animals after neglected dog 'died in pain' She said it wouldn’t have happened if she had been looking after her. Poole said Bella had been “dumped on her doorstep” and she had got her eating and drinking for 24 hours before other people took her to a vet. Brought before the courts she pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary to a protected animal.
She also admitted to being a responsible person failing to prevent the causing of unnecessary suffering to an animal. Poole, of Lavender Road, was banned for keeping animals for three years and was ordered to complete an 18-month community order. She was also ordered to complete 24 rehabilitation activity requirement Days, to pay a victim surcharge of £114 and to rehome any remaining animals in her care.
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