Owner receives animal ban after he left dog to starve tied to a tree in winter

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A man who left his dog starve to death while tied to a tree in Romford has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years after a prosecution by the RSPCA.

Mohamed Amine Chenouf, (D.o.B 31/07/1994), formerly of Hartshorn Gardens, East Ham, London, pleaded guilty to one offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and was sentenced at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on November 7.

As well as the disqualification, Chenouf was handed a 16-week prison sentence, which the magistrates suspended for 12 months, and they also told the defendant to complete 12 Rehabilitation Activity (RAR) days.

The court heard that the RSPCA was called out to a bungalow at Eastern Avenue East in Romford on December 28 last year after a caller to the charity’s National Cruelty Line reported seeing a dead bull breed dog who was roped to a tree at the side of the property.

RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) Nicola Thomas said the dead dog was lying on a blanket half in and half out of a roofless plastic dog kennel, outside of which she found an empty bowl and one with only a small amount of water in it. The officer estimated the dog had a very low body condition score of around one or two.

Police seized the dog and the next day the officer, along with RSPCA Inspector Shahnaz Ahmad, made enquiries at a nearby address in Romford, where the charity was told the defendant had moved to live.

Inspector Ahmad said in a statement presented to the court that unsuccessful attempts were made to contact Chenouf at his new address, where there were concerns about another dog that belonged to him. A brindle-coloured bulldog with cropped ears was later seized by police in February 2024 from that address.

Chenouf claimed he had not been living at either address and the dead dog at Eastern Avenue East was not his and that the canine “died from eating a rat”.

A vet, who examined the dead dog, who was around a year old, said he weighed only 18.55 kg (2.92 stone) and was in an emaciated state, while he was suffering with a parasitic infection in his gastrointestinal tract.

But the vet concluded: “While some of the dog’s poor body condition may be attributed to the parasitic worms, they on their own would not have caused that degree of emaciation, which leads to the conclusion that the dog lacked suitable nutrition for a prolonged period of weeks.

“The dog was tethered to a tree without access to adequate shelter or a dry resting area during the month of December.”

In mitigation, it was claimed that a friend of the defendant had agreed to look after the dog, but failed to do so. It was also said the defendant suffered from declining mental health.

In a separate case, which was not prosecuted by the RSPCA, Chenouf was sentenced to 14 weeks custody for causing unnecessary suffering to another dog.

The prison term, imposed at the same hearing, was suspended for 12 months to run concurrently with the RSPCA conviction. A ten-year animal ban and a deprivation order on the other dog was also imposed by the magistrates.

Speaking after the sentencing Inspector Ahmad said: “This poor dog was left outside to starve without access to food and water during the mid winter and the owner failed to take any responsibility for him, including failing to provide basic veterinary care that would have prevented the parasite infection and explored his loss of weight.”