CONVICTED (2012) | David P Nicholls, born 24 June 1957, of 94 Magdalen Road, Blurton, Stoke on Trent ST3 3HU – chained his elderly dog to a shed for up to three weeks, forcing him to drink his own urine to survive; previously abandoned a dog in the park.
Callous David Nicholls tied his 16-year-old pet dog, named Nato, in freezing conditions in February 2012. When he was discovered by RSPCA officers, the Jack Russell was so weak he could barely stand and was covered in weeping sores.
He was forced to drink his own urine and eat his faeces to survive.
Vets were forced to remove the dog’s eye after an easily treatable infection had gone septic, which Nicholls had ignored.
Nicholls admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and had been convicted previously for mistreating another dog.
RSPCA officer Laura Bryant said: ‘Nato would have needed only basic treatment if Nicholls had taken him to the vet but leaving him for so long made his injuries horrific.’
Appallingly, Nicholls was convicted in May 2011 of mistreating another dog, a Staffordshire terrier, after he bought her in a pub and left her tied to a park bench.
In sentencing him over Nato’s unnecessary suffering, Chairman Doug Hood said: ‘This matter of causing unnecessary cruelty to the dog is a serious case.
‘Anyone would have realised that the dog needed treatment.
‘This is also compounded by your previous discharge for a similar matter.’
Sentencing: 18-month community order; vet cost of £465. 10-year ban on keeping pets (expired October 2022).
