CONVICTED (2024) | Stephen Atterbury, born 29 July 1966, and Emma Richardson, born 29 July 1980, of 14 Sholebroke Street, Chapeltown, Leeds LS7 3HT – for the starvation and neglect of their pet Rottweiler.
The RSPCA seized Rottweiler Tyson from Stephen Atterbury and Emma Richardson after the cruel pair failed to address his poor condition.
The charity had made numerous visits to the couple’s home after receiving a report of concern about a dog living there. While officers could hear a dog, he could not be seen. Officers left advisory notices – which include advice on steps an owner should take for their animals – but Atterbury and Richardson failed to respond.
An RSPCA officer managed to speak with the pair in April 2021. Although initially reluctant to allow the RSPCA officer to see their dog, Atterbury admitted that Tyson was skinny, but said he was too.
The officer was eventually allowed to see Tyson and was extremely concerned about his poor bodily condition, describing him as “obviously underweight”. They added that “his ribs, spine, hips and his stomach was sunken. His back legs looked to be lacking in muscle and the top of his head was sunken on either side so appeared pointy.”
The couple claimed that Tyson was eating and toileting normally and showed no concern about his condition. They declined the RSPCA’s offer to take the dog to a vet for an assessment.
They were issued with a welfare notice, stating that Tyson would need to be seen by a vet but this instruction was never followed and the dog’s condition deteriorated further.
An RSPCA inspector returned to the property on 1 May 2021 with a West Yorkshire Police officer. This time Tyson was described as “very thin, his face was gaunt [and] he had dried faeces all over his back.”
Tyson was removed from the home by the officer and placed into the care of the RSPCA.
He was taken to a vet, who said the dog was emaciated with marked muscle wastage over the head, body trunk and limbs, and also showed signs of diarrhoea.
The veterinary surgeon stated: “In my professional opinion (Tyson) had been suffering due to a lack of veterinary treatment or investigation into the degree of emaciation present. This could have been easily avoided in my opinion by the owner seeking veterinary attention or feeding the dog appropriately.”
Tyson has since been put on a feeding plan and has fully recovered, and after nearly a year in RSPCA care, he was able to be released for rehoming.
Atterbury and Richard were both found guilty of animal welfare offences.
Sentencing |
Both: 12-week custodial suspended for 12 months; rehabilitation; £172.00 costs and £128 victim surcharge each. Banned from owning all animals indefinitely.
A pair of total stinkers.