CONVICTED (2023) | Sarah Hunt, born c. 1973, of Boundary Lane, Saltney, Chester – left an emaciated dog to die outside alone and surrounded by waste.

Hunt pleaded guilty to the mistreatment of of a cross-breed spaniel-type dog known as Taf, who died in March 2022.

RSPCA prosecutor Peter Mitchell said Hunt and her partner had acquired the 12-year-old black and white dog from a farm in January 2022.

Hunt’s next-door neighbour was aware of the dog and noticed he appeared quiet. She said he was in good condition at this stage, although his nails were long.

Taf was predominantly kept outside. On one occasion the neighbour found him in her garden and was concerned about the deterioration in his condition.

In a witness statement, the neighbour said she had been throwing food over the fence to feed Taf as she was worried he was looking thin. She also reported her concerns to the RSPCA.

Later, she saw the dog had deteriorated further, with eyes described as “sunken” and all of his ribs visible. The garden in which he was forced to live was said to be “in a mess” with food and waste strewn everywhere and over 50 bags of rubbish.

The matter was reported again to the RSPCA and an inspector visited the home on March 18, 2022.

Hunt told the inspector the dog had died the previous day and been buried in the back garden.

The court heard Taf had never been to the vets and had been kept in an outhouse.

The RSPCA exhumed the dog’s body and arranged a post-mortem examination where it was found that he was in poor body condition. Weighing just 14kg, he was suffering muscle wastage and there was a total lack of fat on his body.

The vet discovered foreign bodies including cotton and grass inside the dog’s stomach.. The cotton had caused peritonitis and Taf had ultimately died of septic shock.

The vet expert added the dog had been in that condition for as long as three weeks.

Hunt’s solicitor told the court her client was an “extremely vulnerable adult” who was “very remorseful for what has happened”.

The court heard Hunt and her partner at the time had rehomed Taf, but the dog did not get on well with the two dogs already at the property, so Taf was kept outside.

Hunt realised, in hindsight, the dog should have been rehomed. She said Taf was being fed “twice a day” and given water.

By March, her partner was in custody and Hunt was “in a bad way and unable to think rationally”, and “hid herself away”.

She had spoken to her mother, who advised taking the dog to the vets if his condition got worse. Hunt planned to take the dog to the vet when her partner was out of custody on March 28, but the dog had died in the meantime.

The court heard Hunt was “well intentioned”, but the “care was incompetent”.

Hunt was “no longer with her partner” and trying to turn her life around.

Of the two other dogs, one was diagnosed with cancer and sadly died, while the other named Amy was still in Hunt’s ownership. As she has now been banned from having a dog, Amy will need to be rehomed.

Sentencing | 12 weeks in prison, suspended for two years; 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement. £500 costs and £154 victim surcharge. Banned from keeping dogs for two years (expires March 2025).

Chester Standard