The owner of a malformed poodle which was found blind, deaf and weighing a quarter of its normal weight was given a six-month prison sentence and fined £500 at Dublin District Court yesterday.
In what the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) said was the worst case of neglect they had ever encountered the animal was found barely alive at the home of Mr Michael Walsh at Kildare Road in Crumlin last February.
Mr Walsh, who is in his late 30s, was not present for the hearing. His solicitor, Ms Corinne Ranson, said that a friend of Mr Walsh had left a message three hours before the hearing began, to say he had to go to London.
Giving evidence before Judge Desmond Hogan, Mr Peter McMahon, a veterinary surgeon from Tallaght, Co Dublin said the poodle, which had to be put down shortly after it was discovered, needed more care than other dogs as it had no bottom jaw due to a congenital defect.
He said its hair, which had not been groomed for several months, was matted into its eyes and bacteria and pus had formed rendering the animal blind.
The dog's hair was also matted around its ears and Mr McMahon said he believed the animal was deaf or very hard of hearing.
The hair around the dog's groin had matted so tightly, he said, that it had not been able to urinate or defecate properly and its waste had "got stuck" causing infection.
Questioned further by Judge Hogan, Mr McMahon said he did not believe the dog had been fed regularly. It was a quarter of its body weight and its condition was the result of around six months of neglect.
Giving evidence earlier, Garda Robert O'Donovan of Sundrive Road Station in Crumlin told how he had came across the dog after responding to a call at around 7 p.m. on February 8th regarding a break-in at Mr Walsh's home. The door was ajar when he arrived and the house had been ransacked. He had used a torch to investigate the scene as the lights were not working. He found the animal in a rear box-room upstairs, he said. It was a "bundle of fur" and at first he could not tell if it was a cat or a dog.
The animal was emaciated. It was one of the most horrific sights he had seen in his seven years as a garda.
Insp Robert Kenny from the DSPCA said he observed that the poodle was in a "serious state of neglect". After a cursory examination he observed that the dog's coat was soaked with urine and its hair matted. It was the worst case of a live animal suffering from neglect he had seen. Judge Hogan said the animal had been subjected to "slow and prolonged and continuous torture" due to what appeared to be the "wilful neglect" of the defendant. Mr Walsh was convicted of unnecessary punishment to an animal under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and the Control of Horses Act 1996. He was fined £500 and ordered to pay the DSPCA's legal costs of £750 with 25 days in default.
The owner was also jailed for six months and banned from owning a dog or any other animal for life.
Afterwards Chief Insp Maurice Byrne of the DSPCA said he was pleased with the verdict and that he hoped it would encourage people to inform the authorities about others who mistreat animals.