CONVICTED (2022) | Rachel Louise Burke, born 16 December 1982, of Dene Street, Hetton-le-Hole, Houghton Le Spring, City of Sunderland DH5 9AX – subjected a dog found dead in a wheelie bin to “months of suffering”.
The “devastatingly thin” body of the six-year-old lurcher, known as Blue, was discovered wrapped up in a bin bag in a wheelie bin.
RSPCA inspectors also found a starving Labrador without food and water at the filthy property , which was strewn in faeces.
Burke was convicted of two animal cruelty sentences in her absence after she was a no-show in court. She was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to Blue by not addressing his weight loss and failing to provide a suitable environment for either dog.
The court heard how RSPCA inspectors were shown an image by a resident showing a dead dog laying next to a pink water container in the yard.
Inspector John Lawson told the court: “We checked the wheelie bin in the rear garden and at the top of the bin was a black bin bag with a small hole in it. To the touch and through this hole it was clear the bag contained a deceased dog and his colour was the same as the dog in the photograph.”
A post-mortem later revealed that Blue died from a gastrointestinal disease. The vet’s report concluded he would have been suffering for months through malnutrition
Inspector Lawson added: “It was devastating to see how thin he was. His ribs, spine and hips were clearly visible, there was no muscle mass and his eyes were sunken in.
“Blue’s abdomen had sunk to a level I had never seen before.”
Police gained access to the property and found the floor upstairs littered with dog faeces and the bathroom toilet full of human excrement.
An outside dog pen is also said to have been in a filthy condition.
As the inspectors were about to leave the property Burke appeared with a man, who said they had just returned from London.
In mitigation the court was told that Burke was previously of good character and had seen mental health issues worsen after a break-up.
She could not recollect putting Blue’s body in the bin but said she had placed him in a bin bag so her children could not see.
The Labrador, Floyd, is due to be rehomed by the RSPCA.
Sentencing | two-year community sentence with 220 hours of unpaid work. Banned from keeping animals for 10 years.
Absolutely Heart Breaking.
That Dog should have been Examined By A Vet, as soon as he started getting ill. He must have Suffered For Months, Starving and Malnutrition. It must have been obvious he was not Eating and In Pain.
She Is Scum. Trash such as this shouldn’t keep Animals, if you’re not prepared to seek Veterinary Help When Obviously Needed.
She won’t have no luck for what she did.
I see from one of her photo’s, that she only cares about getting drunk with her mates. 🙄 Pfffffft. She probably wasn’t able to afford the dog food, because she wasted all of her money on alcohol. Some people get pets just to show off to their friends. I bet if she had to choose between a life of alcohol and partying, and taking care of her dog, you can guarantee she’d pick the alcohol life. Not good. Not good enough.