CONVICTED (2024) | Jamieleigh Devenport aka Jamieleigh Vaughan, born 2 March 2002, of Woodlea, Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough TS8 0TX – starved two dogs – one to death – while feeding a third takeaways.

Single mother Jamieleigh Devenport initially claimed that she had given the unnamed Labrador away, before admitting she had buried the pet in her back garden.

Police found the dog buried in a shallow grave “with every bone visible”.

The court heard that he had been starved, and suffered from a lack of exercise and sanitation.

She had also starved a springer spaniel to emaciation with the dog’s “ribs, hips and spine clearly visible”. He was so weak he struggled to stand up without support, and was found to be “at risk of death”.

When police arrived at Devenport’s home on December 16, 2023, she was carrying her terrier Marley around with her.

Officers said that Devenport and her fatherless children were living “in disgusting conditions” and that the “smell was unbearable” from dog faeces in the house.

The police said that Devenport’s children “did not appear upset by the death of the Labrador”.

Caroline McGurk, prosecuting, said that the mum-of-two admitted feeding Marley and the children takeaways, but told police that she couldn’t find the money to feed her other two dogs, who were just given water.

“She admitted that she found the money for three joints of cannabis a day,” Ms McGurk told the court.

“She owned three dogs. She chose to take care of one dog – the terrier, Marley.”

Devenport, who is now being helped by a social worker, pleaded guilty to two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

In mitigation, Duncan McReddie asked the court to consider handing Devenport a community order “from the lower end of the bracket” in the sentencing guidelines.

Mr McReddie said that Devenport has suffered from depression for “some time” and that she “never intended for a dog to be treated cruelly or that a dog should suffer.

“Her circumstances spiralled out of control,” he said.

The Middlesbrough court heard that as well as caring for her two children, Devenport is a carer for her grandad.

“She is extremely fearful of these proceedings,” Mr McReddie said, “she has had the notion of a custodial sentence hanging over her since January.”

Mr McReddie also asked Judge Jonathan Carroll to avoid giving his client unpaid work, which he said would “prove a stressor too far after the demands of looking after children and of family life.”

But the judge said he disagreed, citing a probation report that found Devenport is able of carrying out the work.

He told Devenport: “On December 16, police who visited your home found a truly shocking scene. Conditions in the house were terrible for the dogs and for the children.

“You were clearly not coping with caring for your family and for the dogs. You suffer with depression, which is capable, from time to time, of being debilitating.

“You had three dogs and liked one of them. You starved the others. One of them was starved to death and buried in the back garden. The other was minutes, hours, or a few days away from death by starvation. I accept the psychiatric evidence in front of me.”

Sentencing | community sentence with 18 rehabilitation days which involves help from Women’s Services; 100 hours of unpaid work. Banned from keeping animals for 10-years (expires August 2034).

GazetteLive