#MostEvil | Carl Peter McQuillan, born 09/02/1987, of Spruce Court, Salford M6 5EW – admitted he “never gave a second thought” to the dog he abandoned to starve to death.
Staffordshire bull terrier Cleo was found dead, surrounded by faeces and urine and with flies around her body at a house in Swinton.
The horrifying extent of McQuillan’s neglect was outlined by prosecutors. He admitted “not giving a second thought” to the dog after moving in elsewhere with his father after his stepmother was diagnosed with cancer, it was said.
The RSPCA were originally called to his home in January 2015, after receiving reports of an abandoned dog, but they were assured she had not been left alone for long.
Then on 14 March 2016 police were called to Bolton Road in Swinton, near the Lord Nelson pub, to reports of a public order offence.
After being arrested McQuillan told officers he needed to go home to pick up some medication for a heart problem.
It was then police came across his dog, which had been left to fend for herself since Christmas time.
Prosecuting for the RSPCA, Anne McDonald said a police officer who entered the room encountered an ‘overwhelming smell’ which made him feel ‘physically sick and took his breath away’.
She added: “He said that the dog was clearly deceased and appeared in a mummified state. He said he was shocked at the state of the animal and had never seen a dog left in such a condition.”
A post mortem examination found that the dog could have died any time from eight to 40 days before she was discovered by police. A child’s shoe was found in the dog’s mouth and other items in her stomach.
McQuillan’s lawyer Michael Cahill conceded his client “didn’t give the animal a second thought.”
Addressing McQuillan, the judge said: “It was a horrendous offence. There was quite clearly neglect.
“You effectively abandoned your dog around Christmas and it was found dead in March.
“The dog had tried to eat just about anything before it died. I have no doubt it suffered a miserable death.”
Sentence: 16 weeks in prison for the animal offence plus 10 weeks for assault on his partner, to run consecutively.