RSPCA: Pet ban for couple who left dog at home during family holiday - with hungry pup forced to eat rubbish

Warning: This story contains graphic content which may be distressing.

A Sussex man and woman have been banned from owning pets and given suspended jail terms for leaving their elderly boxer home alone while they went on holiday - leading to the dog’s death.

Keith Byrne, 39, and Sophie Singer, 42, both of Eastbourne, were last week sentenced at Lewes Crown Court, after earlier being found guilty of three Animal Welfare Act offences. The pair had left their dog Bentley - a 14-year-old boxer - at their Wilmington Gardens property to go on a family holiday, leading to concerned neighbours desperately trying to give the dog food, before calling the RSPCA for help.

Both were handed five-year pet bans, and Byrne was sentenced to nine months custody suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work - while Singer was sentenced to six months custody suspended for two years, and 200 hours of unpaid work. The pair had told the court they loved the dog, and blamed his poor health on his age - but Judge Laing KC said the pair had behaved "appallingly".

“[The dog’s] ribs and pelvis were plain for anyone to see, his skin was in a terrible state and you could not have failed to miss these factors,” the Judge said. “You have stated some bizarre reasoning which you insist upon in your defence. This is a ridiculous account and this dog was clearly suffering substantially.”

After being alerted by neighbours, RSPCA Inspector Tony Woodley visited the property - where he found the front door ajar and the dog collapsed at the foot of the stairs. In his witness statement, he said: “I stepped to the base of the stairs and could see the dog, a tan coloured boxer type dog. The dog was emaciated and I was not sure it was alive. I touched the dog’s face and he twitched. I immediately dialled 999 and was given permission to remove the dog for emergency treatment.”

He saw some food and water next to Bentley, which neighbours said they had left for him. The boxer’s ribs, hips and spine were all prominent, he said, and his nails were extremely overgrown and curling around - while his eyes were “sunken”.

Inspector Woodley contacted Bentley’s owners, and found they has gone away on a family holiday at Centre Parcs. Despite the best efforts of a veterinary team, Bentley died at the veterinary practice.

The vet said in their witness statement that they believed Bentley had been neglected for some time, with his nails so long he would have struggled to walk without pain. “The nails were overgrown to a level I would not expect to see unless the patient had many months of neglect and lack of activity... I believe Bentley was not being provided with basic welfare needs and was allowed to suffer unnecessarily prior to his demise for a period in excess of four weeks.”

A post mortem found Bentley’s “stomach contained a large amount of rubbish, including numerous food wrappers and a felt pen, which may have been present for sometime and are indicative of scavenging due to hunger”. The veterinary pathologist added that the dog had starved, and one of the objects he had eaten had perforated his bowel.

After sentencing, Inspector Woodley said: “This poor dog was suffering in pain while his owners, who had left him, went on a family holiday. The RSPCA thanks nearby residents for alerting us of this dog’s sad plight and through our actions with the support of Sussex Police we were able to get Bentley to a vet, although sadly we could not save him.

“The owners of the dog had clearly failed to provide for Bentley and the claim that he was ‘old and tired’ does not excuse the suffering he was caused through the inactions of Byrne and Singer,” he continued. “This case should be seen as a clear warning that just because an animal is old this does not mean that an owner has an excuse not to provide it with basic care and veterinary treatment.”