CONVICTED (2023) | backyard breeder Gurminder Singh Heer, born c. 17 December 1980, of 207A Swan Lane, Stoke, Coventry CV2 4GE – kept a starving dog and her seven young puppies in deplorable conditions.

When RSPCA inspector Ben Jones attended the home of Gurminder Singh aka Gurminder Singh Heer on October 12, 2022, he found Presa Canario Sasha tethered to a fridge freezer by a metal chain. She was extremely underweight with her spine, ribs and pelvic bones visible. Opposite her were seven young puppies, around three weeks old, in a rusty metal box.

With Heer’s permission, the RSPCA inspector took Sasha and her puppies to the charity’s Birmingham Animal Hospital. Due to their poor condition, all eight dogs were admitted for treatment.

The vet who examined Sasha found her to weigh 25.7kg (56.7lb) – nearly half the 40kg (88lb) healthy average for her breed.

As she was too weak to feed her puppies, they were weaned early.

In a statement to the court, the vet said: “Although some loss in body weight is expected during lactation, it is imperative that an owner feeds the dog appropriately to ensure this is minimised.

“Due to the extent of her poor body condition and the lack of other pre-existing conditions detected on blood work, which may have exacerbated this lack of body condition – it can be confirmed that this dog had been suffering through a process of a lack of appropriate nutrition. The duration of this is approximately three weeks, though likely longer.”

The court heard that within a month of being in the RSPCA’s care, Sasha gained 6kg in weight.

Asked by a magistrate if he had booked a vet appointment for Sasha, Heer said he had booked one for two weeks after she had given birth.
When asked why he didn’t take her sooner, he told the court: “I didn’t want her to be kept away from the pups. Why I pleaded guilty is because ‘yes I should have fed her more food’.”

In mitigation, Heer told the court he was not a bad dog owner and that he had £222 worth of dog food in his fridge which he had been feeding Sasha.

Magistrates noted Heer’s refusal to accept responsibility for his actions and his complete lack of remorse, but decided not to impose an immediate custodial sentence.

The seven puppies have all since been rehomed by the RSPCA. Sasha has now been renamed Flora and is up for adoption at the charity’s Bryn-y-Maen Animal Centre in Colwyn Bay, Wales.

Sentencing | eight-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months; 80 hours of unpaid work; £400 costs and a £128 victim surcharge. Banned from keeping dogs for just two years (expires July 2025)

CoventryLive