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Owners of Wirral dogs left
to suffer with severe skin condition sentenced at Court
A man and a woman who left their dogs
to suffer with a severe skin condition have been disqualified from keeping dogs
for 5 years.
Barry Faulkner (DOB 13/12/1967) and Liza Johns (DOB 02/05/1975), both of
HarCourt Street, in Birkenhead, Merseyside, appeared at Wirral Magistrates'
Court, Monday, 13 March 2017, to be sentenced for causing unnecessary suffering to the
2 Collie dogs, named Custard and Tippy, by failing to provide veterinary
treatment.
As well as the 5-year ban, magistrates also each gave them a 12-month community
order. Faulkner was ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work and told to pay ₤620
in costs. Johns was ordered to do 60 hours of unpaid work and told to pay ₤455
in costs.
They pleaded guilty to the offences at an earlier
hearing, on 2 March 2017.
The Court heard that the RSPCA were alerted by concerned members of the public
who had seen the dogs with large amounts of fur missing.
RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes, who investigated, said:- "When I went
round to their house, the first thing that struck me was that there was a very
strong smell of yeast infection in the air. Both dogs were nibbling themselves
to the point that Custard managed to rip open a sore on her body. They were both
clearly very itchy and uncomfortable and the smell really was overpowering. I
took them to a vet, where they were diagnosed with having mange. It is hard to
say how long they were like this for, but they should have been taken to a vet
at the earliest opportunity. By law we have a duty to care for our pets
and veterinary treatment is not something which should be ignored."
Inspector Joynes added that the dogs have
"come a long way" since arriving in the RSPCA's care. "They have
dramatically improved, but still have a way to go... Most importantly they're no
longer in great discomfort as they were when we rescued them, which has allowed
their individual personalities to come out. Rather than being obsessed with
chewing and scratching themselves, they are now really friendly, inquisitive and
playful dogs."
Both dogs are available for rehoming at the RSPCA's Wirral branch. Anyone who is
interested in rehoming the dogs should contact the branch on:- 0151 638 6318.
Custard and Tippy's story will appear on Channel 5's The Dog Rescuers later this
year (2017).
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