CONVICTED (2024) | Jake Craven, born 11 February 1996, currently of Linnaeus Street, Anlaby, Hull HU3, and Megan Findlay, born 18 April 1999, of Victoria Park Avenue, Scarborough YO12 7TR – neglected three dogs, starving one to death.
Craven and Findlay were offered help with rehoming when the RSPCA and a housing association officer visited their flat in Victoria Avenue in Scarborough in March 2023.
Two Staffies – Coco and her puppy Tinker – and a terrier called Rex were among several dogs being kept in breach of the tenancy agreement. When the housing association officer returned to the flat a fortnight later, she was unable to get inside.
RSPCA Inspector Tom Hutton later tracked the couple down to where they were living on wasteland near the Grand Hotel in Scarborough on June 10.
Findlay told the inspector they were homeless and Rex had died, so she had wrapped him in a blanket and put him inside their tent.
Inspector Hutton said in a statement presented to the court that Findlay then let the two Staffies out of the tent and he could see they were both extremely thin.
Their hips and ribs were prominent and their spines were visible. Both dogs were anaemic and needed treatment in an animal hospital.
A vet who examined two-year-old Coco said the dog was emaciated with a body condition score of two out of nine. Her daughter, Tinker, a six-month-old Staffie cross, scored three on the same chart.
“Both dogs were suffering due to lack of nutrition and water and were losing body condition. I estimate they would have been suffering for around a month at least to have lost that much weight,” said the vet.
In mitigation, the court was told that Findlay suffered from psychological problems, including ADHD and anxiety and depression. Craven was said to have “secondary responsibility” for the care of the dogs.
Coco and Tinker have been returned to good health and will now be rehomed by the RSPCA.
Speaking after the hearing, Inspector Hutton said: “The defendants had ample time to address the weight loss of their dogs. They didn’t engage with the RSPCA’s foodbank scheme or seek the support one of our branches could have offered them if they were struggling.
“They rang us to tell us one of the dogs was dead and we rushed over, but it was too late by then.”
Sentencing |
Craven – 18-month community order with 25 days of rehabilitation. Three-month curfew.
Findlay – 18-month community order with 35 days of rehabilitation; victim surcharge of £114.
Seven-year ban (expires May 2031).