CONVICTED (2024) | Andrew Durkin, born c. 1992, of 4 Farndale Road, Scawsby, Doncaster DN5 8SH – left two starving dogs in a “cruel and nasty state”.
Father-of-one Andrew Durkin pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to his two dogs: a black crossbreed called Bruno and an Akita cross named Cody.
The RSPCA began investigating Durkin in October 2020 after receiving a tip-off that two skinny dogs were being kept at his then address in New Street, Doncaster.
After Durkin failed to make contact with them, the animal charity enlisted the help of the police to enter and search the property.
Inspectors found both dogs in the kitchen, where the floor was littered with old pizza boxes, and the counters covered in mouldy food and rubbish.
Inspector Kim Greaves said: “A police officer opened the door to the kitchen and it was then that I first saw Bruno, a black crossbreed, male dog around six years old.
“Bruno was loose in the kitchen, and there was no bedding or water for him,” she said.
“Bruno was very friendly, eager and wagging his tail to greet us, but he was wobbly on his legs, and I could clearly see every rib. His spine and hip bones were all sticking up clearly from his fur which was oily with dry skin flakes all over his coat.”
Tan and white Akita cross Cody was being kept in a dog crate at the rear of the kitchen. This had no base and only bare wires to stand on. There was no food or water inside the crate. Durkin later explained that Cody was kept in a crate because he was destructive. He too was found to be very underweight.
A vet report read to the court stated that the dogs were believed to have been starved for an extended period – possibly several months.
The report continued: “Any reasonable owner looking at these dogs must have noticed the advanced weight loss and either sought veterinary attention or increased their nutrition.
“The owner’s failure to act has undoubtedly caused a great deal of suffering in this case,
“Dogs experiencing food deprivation are likely to experience this in a similar way to people who suffer with extreme hunger, shakes, anxiety, distress and weakness and lethargy.”
Sentencing Durkin a magistrate said it was horrifying that he had put animals “into such a cruel and nasty state”.
Durkin was unrepresented and did not offer any mitigation, although the court heard that he had no previous convictions and was “of good character”. He had agreed to sign over both dogs to the RSPCA.
Cody and Bruno were rehabilitated by the RSPCA and are in loving homes.
Sentencing | 200 hours of unpaid work; £500 court costs. Indefinite ban on keeping all animals which he can’t appeal for at least 10 years.
Vile creepy man.