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Some of the pups who were left to survive in appalling conditions
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How could they do this to tiny pups?
Exclusive by Cheryl Latham6/ 8/2008
SIX PUPPIES were left whimpering in a freezing, pitch black outhouse while their owner went off on holiday.
Stockport Magistrates heard that just three of the 10-week-old pups survived the ordeal, after they were found with their ribs, spines and pelvic bones protruding from their tiny bodies.
All the pups were extremely underweight and they only had one small, dirty plastic bed between them - in the middle of November.
An ‘overwhelming smell of urine’ hit the RSPCA inspector as she arrived at the filthy outhouse on Braddon Road, Woodley. The stone floor was completely covered in faeces and there was no dry area for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier type pups to lie.
The court heard that after a week under these conditions, the pups were finally rescued.
Alec Rogers, 21, and Aneirin Scully, 25, of Oxford Way, Heaton Norris, had used aliases and false addresses to avoid being caught for unreasonably placing the pups in an environment detrimental to their well being.
But Rogers, also known as Thomas Spencer, later pleaded guilty at Stockport Magistrates to failure to prevent unnecessary suffering to the animals after he went on holiday and left the Brindle pups in the care of his friend Scully. And Scully, who had previously given false addresses in Poynton and Macclesfield and said he had changed his name to Michael Emme, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal by unreasonably placing them in an environment that was detrimental to their well being and failure to ensure the animals’ welfare.
Lindsay Richardson, of Braddon Road, told the court she could hear the pups crying in the 5ft x 3ft outhouse for over a week. She had not seen anyone feed the pups.
Scully had left the puppies at a friend’s house in Woodley because he had nowhere to keep them while Rogers was away. He insisted he had fed the pups twice a day, but claimed a confusion in dates meant the dogs were left alone for 36 hours.
RSPCA inspector Lorna Bracegirdle said the emaciated pups made no noise when she approached the outhouse doorand she found them in freezing winter conditions, the floor covered in faeces mixed with rainwater, the one plastic bed wet and dirty and the pups had no bedding. They had cuts covered in faeces, which they had been licking in an attempt to clean themselves. There were two empty bowls on the floor.
After they were rescued, the tiny dogs drank thirstily and scrambled for food. The RSPCA vet rated the dogs’ condition as low as 0.5 out of 5.
When eventually found and questioned, Rogers said he had bought the puppies for £1,000. He said he was told they had been vaccinated - but three later died from canine virus Parvo.
The dogs had not been vaccinated, but a double dose could also have killed them. Vets fees and legal fees to prosecute the pair have so far come to over £13,000. Rogers has now handed the three remaining pups to the RSPCA for rehoming.
Both Rogers and Scully were tagged and ordered to appear before Stockport Magistrates for sentencing on Thursday.
Outside court, Inspector Bracegirdle said: "This case was particularly upsetting. When I arrived there and saw the disgusting conditions, I really didn’t think I would find six puppies alive. They were absolutely starving when we got them back to the RSPCA and I have never seen dogs drink so much or so quickly."
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7/08/2008 at 09:59
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