CONVICTED (2023) | Stephen Graham, born 1 December 1988, and Samantha Bagley, born 31 July 1992, of 8 Milton Road, Egremont CA22 2HD – starved their dog until he was reduced to “a bag of bones”.
The RSPCA in Whitehaven received a rehoming request from Stephen Graham during November 2022 in relation to a Staffy named Keanu.
Graham, a career criminal with 42 criminal convictions to his name, claimed the dog had been losing weight over several months but this had escalated after a house move.
He said Keanu had been vomiting and losing control of his bowels, which he said was “ruining his expensive carpets”.
When asked why he hadn’t taken the dog to a vet, Graham said he couldn’t do so due to an ongoing dispute.
Graham said he had been feeding the dog baby milk and putting water in his dry food to fill him up.
The RSPCA offered to help but Graham said he no longer wanted the dog.
Keanu was examined by a vet who found that he was extremely underweight, weighing just 9.6kg against an ideal weight for his breed of 16kg. His bodily condition was poor and he received the lowest assessment score of one out of five.
In court Graham and his partner, 30-year-old Samantha Bagley, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
The pair, who arrived late for their sentencing hearing, were said to have various difficulties in their lives, including childcare responsibilities.
Passing sentence Recorder Tony Hawks told the couple he suspected “poor decision-making is typical of the way the pair of you live your lives”.
He went on: “As any normal person understands, taking possession of a dog — or indeed any animal — as a pet is not something that is to be done on a whim. It requires thought, planning and commitment.
“That animal put its trust in the pair of you and you betrayed that trust.”
Keanu has since been taken into foster care in West Cumbria. His foster carer said after the hearing she had been shocked by the couple’s neglect.
“I couldn’t believe, the state he was in, that he was even still alive,” she said. Keanu was now healthy and enjoyed going out for walks and playing with toys.
“He is really, really loving, and loves people,” she added.
After the case, Inspector Fletcher said the charity was always there to help people and their pets.
“The message is that the responsibility of animal ownership if a serious one. When you don’t take that responsibility seriously and don’t seek help when you need it, the consequences can be serious,” he said.
Sentencing | six-month custodial, suspended for 18 months. Graham was ordered to undergo probation service rehabilitation. Both defendants were banned from owning or keeping any animal for 10 years, and prohibited from applying to have that lifted for five years.
Absolutely Heat Breaking.
The picture of that poor Dog.
Its a wonder that he made a recovery.
Thank fully he was rescued in time.
Scum such as these shouldn’t keep Animals Full Stop.