CONVICTED (2023) | backyard breeder Kyle Stephen Moore, born c. 2003, of Oldfield Road, Ellesmere Port CH65 8DE – left a French bulldog puppy to starve to death in a filthy flat strewn with rubbish.

Eight-month-old French bulldog Coco slowly starved to death over three months after being abandoned by Kyle Moore. The callous teenager had been paid to look after the puppy by his sister, Leanne Griffiths, after she and boyfriend Jon Brookshaw, moved out to set up home elsewhere. . Backyard breeders Griffiths and Brookshaw were also prosecuted in relation to Coco’s death and sentenced in January 2023.

Moore watched as she became thinner and thinner while ‘forgetting’ to feed, water and walk her until she eventually died alone and in pain.

Her skeletal remains were discovered alongside children’s toys and piles of rubbish by agents acting for the landlords of the flat in Birkenhead, Wirral, following complaints from neighbours about the smell.

Leanne Griffiths was later traced to her new home.

It emerged that she and Brookshaw had taken on Coco for breeding purposes, but when Griffiths moved out in March 2022 she refused to take the dog to their new home due to the puppy not being toilet trained.

RSPCA prosecutor Peter Mitchell said that police were called to a flat on Dorset Gardens on Old Chester Road in Birkenhead on May 12, 2022, following a request by the landlord Magenta Housing.

‘They were due to carry out an eviction on this premises,’ Mr Mitchell said. ‘There was a strong smell and numerous flies coming from the flat.

‘They entered the property whose registered occupant was Leanne Griffiths, who is the defendant’s sister. There was no person present. However, it was discovered that there was a dog dead in the premises, a black and tan bulldog type dog.

‘The police officer stated that the flat was in a terrible state, with dog faeces on the floor and no sign of any food or water for the dog. The RSPCA was contacted and Inspector Anthony Joynes attended the same day.

‘He was overwhelmed by the smell of decomposition, faeces and urine. He saw the dead dog on the floor.

‘There was faeces over every floor of the flat. There were multiple piles of dried diarrhoea. There were food and water bowls on the kitchen floor, empty and dry.

‘There was no food found on the premises. He did discover post pertaining to Leanne Griffiths and Jonathan Brookshaw, her fiance. He made enquiries and discovered the dog’s name was Coco, originally owned by another person but ownership was transferred to Miss Griffiths.’

When questioned, Griffiths said: ‘We’ve been struggling yeah. I was there three or four days ago, she was skinny but she was alive. She couldn’t come with us because she was shitting and pissing everywhere.’

Griffiths said she had been given the dog on breeding terms months earlier but did not bring Coco to her new home as they claimed the puppy would be attacked by their other dog, Molly.

She admitted she had visited Dorset Gardens since moving, saw water and biscuits but agreed the ‘place was a shithole’. She said she had last seen the puppy alive about three to four days previously and that she was ‘skinny but alive’.

She added that she thought her brother was caring for Coco.

Moore said he was going about two times per week to feed Coco, believing that his sister was going as well. He admitted he forgot to feed Coco ‘quite often’.

Mr Mitchell added: ‘He accepted that there were days quite often missed when the dog was not seen at all. He recognised that the dog was getting thin and on one occasion was barely alive and needed feeding. He noted that Coco had been losing weight for about three months.’

A vet’s report said Coco, who weighed just 4.6kg, had been suffering from hunger and starvation for a period of several months prior to her death.

‘She will also have experienced periods of time where she had no access to water and will have suffered from dehydration,’ the report said.

‘The environment in which Coco was housed was totally inadequate for her as it was not clean and sanitary, nor did it provide her with a clean, dry, comfortable and safe place to rest.

‘Of more concern than the poor environment is the complete lack of socialisation and companionship provided to Coco who was spending up to a week at a time with no interaction or social activity at all.

‘It is my expert opinion that Coco was caused to suffer from hunger, weakness and lethargy over a prolonged period of time as a result of the intermittent starvation and dehydration that she was enduring from the failure to provide her with an adequate and sufficient diet on a daily basis.’

In mitigation for Moore, who lived with his mother, defence lawyer Laura Flynn said her client was on the autism spectrum, adding: ‘He is really sorry in his way that the dog died but that ability to demonstrate the appropriate remorse and demonstrate an appropriate sadness was completely lost on the probation services. It is not a criticism but it is because they do not know him.

‘Anyone who is a dog lover is going to be offended by these offences, it’s as simple as that. I did not want you to think that this is someone who was completely careless. It is not that. There are fundamental issues here.

‘The fact that his sister has given the dog to someone who cannot organise himself, never mind anything else, was very remiss. Did he think there was something wrong with the dog? Yes.

‘But did he not think it was his place to do something about it. It did not occur to him that it was his responsibility. That does not make him less culpable, it just explains what was going on. It was not his dog and he did not live with it. He did for a short time but not for a long time before it died,’ she said.

After the case RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes said: It’s hard to prepare yourself to walk in and deal with an incident where a dog has been starved to death.

‘You know you can’t do anything to help at that stage, and all you can do is remain professional and investigate the case to ensure that the animal’s suffering does not go unanswered.

‘I noted that the dog was wearing a collar with a tag containing the name ‘Coco’ engraved onto one side but it was far too big, providing some indication of how big the dog may have been at some point before losing body condition, as people generally don’t put collars on their dogs that are far too big and can just slip off.’

‘It remains one of the saddest sights I’ve ever seen in 14 years, Coco just lying there dead, emaciated and alone surrounded by children’s toys and bits of rubbish, having been completely let down by the people she relied upon.’

Sentencing | 18 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months; 15 rehabilitation activity days; 50 hours of unpaid work; victim surcharge of £154. Disqualified from owning an animal for the next five years (expires March 2028).

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