CONVICTED (2023) | prolific backyard breeder William Underwood, born 5 December 1994, of High Street, Heywood OL10 – neglected a litter of puppies so severely that one had to be put down along with an adult bulldog.

William Underwood, a traveller, pleaded guilty to four Animal Welfare Act offences, in a case brought by the RSPCA.

In October 2022 police and RSPCA inspectors were called to the Heywood home of William Underwood after receiving reports of concern over the welfare of animals. Once inside, they were horrified to find seven puppies in a metal pen that was covered in faeces and urine, with no food or water.

RSPCA inspector King said in his witness statement: “In the kitchen there was no food or water, just two empty bowls, there was a thin sheet on the floor but no bed or comfortable resting area. I proceeded through the living room and came to the bedrooms, I opened the door to the bedroom to the right and was immediately hit by an overwhelming smell, a mix of faeces, urine and ammonia.

“There was a black metal pen which contained seven bull breed puppies. The floor inside the pen was covered in faeces and urine, there were two bowls in the pen which also had faeces inside. There was a grey plastic dog bed, with a dark coloured sheet inside, this was saturated with urine and faeces, as were the sides of the plastic bed.

“Whilst in this room my eyes and nose were stinging with the ammonia in the air. The puppies were filthy, soaked in urine and faeces, one appeared to be holding its leg up and some appeared to be underweight.”

The dog and puppies were taken into possession by police and placed into the RSPCA’s care.

The vet described in their witness statement that the adult dog, Cookie, was underweight and suffering with far progressed eye conditions that meant she would likely require both eyes to be removed.

She also found her to be suffering with a skin condition causing discomfort, dental disease, painful hip dysplasia and struggled to breathe due to breed-related brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome.

The vet concluded that the kindest course of action was to euthanise Cookie to end her suffering.

After examining the puppies, the vet described in their witness statement that all seven suffered from faecal scalding on their abdomen and paws, which caused pain to several of them. They also described how the puppies were visibly underweight, suffered from thirst, hunger and discomfort, as well as parasitic infection and diarrhoea.

One puppy had to be humanely euthanised as their condition was so poor that medical intervention wasn’t enough to improve their welfare.

The remaining puppies were adopted into loving new homes.

Sentencing | 250 hours of unpaid work over 12 months; costs of £400 and a £114 victim surcharge. Disqualified from keeping all animals for three years (expires August 2026).

Manchester Evening News