CONVICTED (2021) | Ashley Woodruff, born 25 January 1993, of St Johns Road, Yeovil BA21 – starved and neglected a dog until he was close to death

RSPCA inspector Marie Griffith found the dog – called Barney – under half his recommended body weight, with his ribs, spine and pelvic bones visible.

He was also suffering from hypothermia, depression and dehydration.

Barney’s owner Ashley Woodruff admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the dog.

Inspector Griffith attended Woodruff’s address after a tip-off from a member of the public.

She said: “Woodruff was holding a small brown terrier type dog tightly. Even though a lot of the dog’s body was covered by Woodruff’s arms I could see the dog was in an extremely poor condition.

“Barney was totally emaciated with no body fat present at all. His ribs, spine and pelvic bones were very visible, and the sockets behind his eyes were sunken. His coat was dull and he appeared lethargic and depressed.”

Barney was rushed to the vets for urgent treatment and checks. Upon examination, vets discovered he weighed just 4.8kg, less than half the weight of a dog of his age, sex and type should weigh.

Medics also discovered that Barney was hypothermic, and concluded that his lack of body fat had left him unable to stay warm while living outdoors.

He was hospitalised and given intravenous fluids and treated with warming equipment to rehydrate and bring up his body temperature.

Barney also had several rotten teeth, including some that were showing signs of infection.

Inspector Griffiths added: “In their report, the vet said they felt that Barney may have been close to death, and that it would have been obvious he was in a terrible state.

“He was caused to suffer unnecessarily by a failure by Woodruff to provide a proper diet and failing to provide urgent vet care for several months.”

Barney has since recovered and is enjoying life in his new home.

Sentencing: jailed for 12 weeks and banned for life from keeping dogs.

SomersetLive