CONVICTED (2024) | Toni Leigh Rowland, born 22 August 1997, of Dundas Way, Felling, Gateshead NE10 9JR – left an 11-month-old dog to starve in a filthy cage.
Northumbria Police found Rowland’s dog- an American bulldog called Nala – in a urine-soaked cage in a bedroom at a property in Leeming Gardens. Sheriff Hill, Gateshead, on August 27, 2023, and rushed her to a veterinary practice
The puppy was so weak she couldn’t stand for longer than half a minute without falling over. The vet gave her a body condition score of just one out of nine and estimated she had been suffering from hunger for weeks if not months.
The RSPCA was contacted and an investigation started.
In written evidence to the court, Inspector Kirsty Keogh-Laws, who saw Nala at the vets, said: “She was desperately skinny and I was able to see every bone in her body.
“Her rib cage was visibly protruding from her body and I could count the bones along her spine. Her legs and back end were stained yellow with a strong smell of urine and she was unable to stand for longer than around 30 seconds or so without falling to the ground.
“I could see pressure sores on the pads of her feet and on her elbows. She was friendly despite being visibly very weak.”
The court heard that the team at Vets Now ran blood tests and instigated a feeding plan, aimed at preventing refeeding syndrome, which can be fatal.
Nala was cared for by a veterinary nurse from the practice before being transferred to the RSPCA rehoming centre for ongoing care in November 2023.
In court Nala’s owner, Rowland, a single mother whose two children have apparently been taken into care, admitted to two animal welfare offences.
Magistrates were told Rowland was suffering from “mental health problems” at the time.
When Nala arrived at the RSPCA Felledge Animal and Equine Centre in Chester-le-Street, she would urinate on the floor when staff called her name, so they stopped using it. Thankfully, there has been a happy ending for Nala, who has since been renamed Penny and rehomed with Beth Atkinson, who described her as “my world”.
Inspector Keogh-Laws praised Northumbria Police and vets for their support in the case, adding: “Without a doubt she was the thinnest dog I have ever seen alive. She couldn’t stand unaided at the vets for more than 30 seconds and was quite literally wasting away in a filthy cage.
“She was a very poorly dog when she first arrived at Vets Now in Gateshead and the team there were instrumental in her recovery. I think we were all hoping for the best but possibly fearing the worst, but they did a wonderful job. To see Penny now in her new home, transformed and living her best life with Beth, is just incredible.”
Sentencing | 12-month community order with 20 days of “rehabilitation” and 200 hours of unpaid work. FIVE-year disqualification order (expires April 2029).