CONVICTED (2024) | Elizabeth Cusick, born c. 1958, of Trafalgar Terrace, Darlington DL3 6QQ – failed to treat a dog with severe injuries consistent with being forcefully and repeatedly kicked and a poorly rabbit with multiple health issues.
Cusick was convicted of cruelty offences in relation to a Chihuahua cross called Chester and a rabbit named Teddy.
She pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the rabbit by failing to address his poor bodily condition and ill health and was found guilty of failing to provide prompt veterinary attention to six-year-old Chester. She denied inflicting trauma on the dog and causing injury and was cleared of that offence after trial.
The court heard that Cusick took Chester in a pram to Stanhope Park Veterinary Hospital in Darlington on June 10, 2023. When a vet examined him so as to carry out a procedure to ease a urinary blockage, injuries were found on his back legs and around his anus.
The vet alerted the RSPCA and Chester was seized. He later underwent surgery and his health improved.
An RSPCA inspector went to Cusick’s home on June 12 where he found the rabbit living in a small hutch with no bedding, food and water. He was also suffering from an untreated eye infection and matted fur. Cusick agreed to sign Teddy over into the care of the charity.
A vet at the vet hospital where Chester was taken said in a statement presented to the court that when the dog arrived he had not eaten for five days and was in a lethargic state, unable to walk more than two or three steps.
“When we clipped the fur between the dog’s back legs ready for the operation we noticed extensive bruising reaching from the ventral midline down either side of the back legs to the stifles. The dog’s perinanal area was also heavily bruised,” she said.
“I called the owner and asked her if anything had happened inside or outside her house, but she could not give any explanations as to how the bruising might have happened.”
The vet said that in her expert opinion Chester had suffered from trauma, most likely to have been a kick or multiple kicks between his back legs, which caused bruising and bleeding and meant he couldn’t urinate because of the swelling.
She added: “Although in the end she did the right thing and brought Chester to the hospital for an examination, the fact she couldn’t provide an explanation as to what happened to him and that she waited for five days before presenting him prolonged his suffering.”
Cusick told the RSPCA inspector that she had “not hurt her dog”.
Teddy the rabbit was found be be suffering from infections in all feet and his belly and bottom were heavily soiled with urine and faeces. A mass was found in his chest which would have caused his eyes to protrude abnormally resulting in respiratory problems. The rabbit was in such poor health that he was put to sleep on humane grounds.
The vet said: “This rabbit had multiple infections that could have been prevented by proper care and attention and the severity of his respiratory infection would have been reduced had veterinary care been provided. The owner should also have noticed that the rabbit’s eyes were abnormal and sought vet advice.”
The court made a deprivation order for the dog against the defendant.
Although he still suffers from urinary infections, Chester has recovered in RSPCA care. He is currently being looked after by one of the charity’s foster carers and will now be found a new permanent home.
Sentencing | ordered to pay a total of £659 in fines, costs and victim surcharge. Two year ban on keeping dogs and rabbits (expires June 2026).