A woman from South London who failed to investigate her mastiff’s drastic weight loss has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years after a prosecution by the RSPCA.
Shannon Beecher (D.o.B 16/6/1998), of Gleneagle Road, Streatham, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 of failing to address her Italian mastiff called Kane’s weight loss and failing to meet the canine’s needs.
The defendant appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on January 13 where as well as the disqualification, she was sentenced to eight weeks in custody which was suspended for 12 months.
Kane was found straying in a neighbour’s garden on May 1 last year in Streatham and was taken in by Lambeth Council’s dog warden service. RSPCA Inspector Harriet Dailday attended at the council’s kennels the following day where she found the dog was underweight and unsteady on his rear legs.
The pet was seized by a police officer present and the inspector took him to RSPCA Finsbury Park Animal Hospital.
“Kane was bright and alert but he was incredibly thin with all his ribs, hips and spine easily visible. He was so underweight that his head looked irregularly large for his body,” said Inspector Daliday in a statement to the court.
He scored one out of nine on a body condition score, where a score of four or five is a healthy weight. A vet who examined the canine at the hospital said he was 10kg underweight and that he had been suffering from malnutrition for around four to five weeks. He was also suffering from a flea infestation.
“The owner failed to recognise signs of emaciation and seek veterinary advice within a reasonable time frame,” stated the vet.
The court heard the defendant suffered from mental health issues. She was told to pay £400 court costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
