A dog was found starved to death in a flat with pieces of plastic food packaging in her stomach.
Joseph Alan Smith, 37, told the RSPCA his Staffordshire bull terrier Tia had been put to sleep weeks before she was found starved to death in a flat on Stanley Road in Kirkdale. The body of the canine, who was around 13 years old, was found covered in maggots and faeces by the landlord of the property, who contacted the RSPCA.
The RSPCA had visited Smith's flat months before the dog died and told him to take her to a vet because she was underweight. But the animal charity were unable to get hold of Smith on follow up visits, until he eventually lied to an officer over the phone and said Tia had been put to sleep.
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Smith, of Onslow Road, Fairfield, appeared at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on February 16, having pleaded guilty to failing to provide for Tia’s needs and causing unnecessary suffering by not addressing the cause of her weight loss.
RSPCA inspector Lisa Lupson told the court she went to Smith’s flat on April 6 last year after his landlord discovered the dead dog. The body of the brown and white Staffordshire bull terrier was lying on a sofa in the lounge of the unkempt flat, where empty boxes of dog food were found in the kitchen as well as empty water and feeding bowls.
RSPCA inspector Lupson said: “Tia’s bones were protruding from her body and maggots were swarming her face. The smell was overpowering and it was difficult not to gag – there was faeces coming from her bottom and her nails were very overgrown."
When the inspector called Smith he claimed that someone should have been attending to the dog.
The RSPCA had paid a visit to Smith three months before Tia died, when inspector Louise Showering found the dog was underweight. Smith claimed Tia had “gone off her food”, so it was agreed that he and his partner would take the dog for a vet check at a PDSA clinic by February 4 in case there was an underlying illness.
But follow up visits by the animal charity drew a blank, with its officers unable to contact Smith on the phone or at the property. Animal rescue officer Katie Glenn eventually managed to get hold of Smith by phone on March 22 and he told her that a friend had taken Tia to a vets, where she was put to sleep, although he was vague about the location of the practice.
A post-mortem showed that Tia was not suffering from any disease and that her cause of death was likely to be starvation, while there were also a number of plastic pieces of food packaging in her stomach.
An expert vet’s report concluded: “Tia’s suffered as a consequence of not being provided with a suitable diet, that is suitable food and water, for a prolonged period.”
Smith was jailed for 16 weeks on February 16 and banned from keeping animals for life. He will also have to pay £500 costs and a victim surcharge of £128.
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