CONVICTED (2020) | Kelly Henry, born 10/01/1984 of Hatchlands Park, Ingleby Barwick TS17 5GT – for the prolonged ill-treatment of her elderly Labrador
Self-employed fitness instructor Kelly Henry, who traded under the name Kelly Henry Signature Personal Training, pleaded guilty to cruelty towards her emaciated black Labrador, known as Shadow.
The ten-year-old dog, whom Henry had owned since she was a puppy, was found by the RSPCA in a “dreadful condition”, weighing just 16kg and having no body fat.
Police were called to Henry’s previous address in Eaglescliffe, Stockton, after an RSPCA inspector saw Shadow looking starved in the garden through slots in the fence. The inspector found two empty dog bowls.
Stuart Bennett, prosecuting, told the court the dog would have been “in pain and suffering weakness” due to malnutrition.
Mr Bennett estimated that this suffering would have lasted around four weeks but “only occurred due to neglect which had obviously been far longer”.
Henry claimed she had fed Shadow but admitted it “probably wasn’t enough”.
Shadow was also found to have cataracts, which Henry had dismissed as “glazed eyes” due to her age. Henry agreed that she should have taken the dog to the vet and said she hadn’t done so as she “didn’t want to look like a bad person”.
The prosecution said that Henry had bought two kittens whom she had taken to the vet regularly, adding that this was “difficult to comprehend”.
The court was shown a series of photographs as evidence of Henry’s neglect. These included photos of Shadow with a protruding rib cage and spine.
A probation service report described how Henry’s personal circumstances had changed after the collapse of her marriage. They said that her neglect of Shadow was “a result of her burying her head in the sand with everything else going on in her life”.
Henry expressed remorse for her actions and agreed that she could have cared for Shadow “a lot better”.
Danielle Hewitt, defending, said that Henry’s two children would “suffer if a custodial sentence were to be imposed”.
Sentencing: 12 weeks in custody suspended for 12 months. 25 days of rehabilitation activity. Ordered to pay £522 costs. Banned from keeping animals for five years. Deprivation order on Shadow and her two kittens.
Got off to Lightly, you Cannot Starve Animals, there is absolutely no need.
Pure evil. Too late to show remorse! (been advised, hoping she would get a lighter sentence???)
If she wasn’t coping in her personal life, why didn’t she contact an Animal Charity for help, instead of starving and causing the poor Dog pain? An adult Labrador should weigh around 30 kg NOT 16 kg.
I hope Shadow is with a good Family now and is well and happy, as she deserves!