A cruel mother and son who starved a dog to death and seriously neglected another have been banned from keeping animals for a decade.
French bulldog Gucci was found dead and partially decomposed in a bathtub, Wigan Magistrates Court heard. Another dog, named Violet, was found severely dehydrated and malnourished. Their feeding bowls were dry and there was no water for the animals.
Susan Shaw, 60, and Jack Wynne, 30, were sentenced on 9 April after pleading guilty to five animal welfare offences each, LancsLive reported. An expert vet witness for the RSPCA said in their statement police called to the property encountered an “overwhelming smell” as they entered. The vet added: “Violet was found to be in a very thin bodily condition.
“The dog was shaking and when offered water drank it quickly. While upstairs [a police officer] found in the bath a deceased French Bulldog dog. The dog was decomposing and covered by a cloth and the bath also contained a number of red maggots were crystalising.
“Some of the tissues were showing early signs of mummification. An estimate as to how long this animal had been deceased was several weeks to 18 months based upon the post mortem findings alone.”
The court heard that, six months prior to the incident, Gucci and Violet had been given to Shaw by her daughter’s friend, who was looking to rehome the dogs.
The friend said in a statement, which was presented to court: “I have a friend and her mum Sue Shaw had always liked Gucci since she was a pup. I had met Sue a couple of times and she seemed like a lovely person at that time. I mentioned to my friend about finding someone to look after my dogs for a while and she suggested her mum, Sue.
“Sue said yes and both she and my friend reassured me that they would be well looked after. I made a point of checking that she would be able to cope with taking on both the dogs and Sue Shaw said yes.”
“Some of the tissues were showing early signs of mummification. An estimate as to how long this animal had been deceased was several weeks to 18 months based upon the post mortem findings alone.”
A second vet who examined Violet found she was underweight and had issues with her eyes and skin, adding within three months of vet treatment she gained over 3kg (6.6lb) in weight and her eyes and skin started to improve.
Shaw was given a 26-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months and Wynne was given a three-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months. They were both ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154 and each banned from keeping animals for 10 years.
Violet made a full recovery and has now been rehomed.