Bishop's Waltham couple convicted of animal ill-treatment (From Hampshire Chronicle)
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Bishop's Waltham couple convicted of animal ill-treatment
5:10pm Tuesday 5th March 2013 in News
Bishop's Waltham convicted of animal ill-treatment
TWO dog owners have been fined after mistreating their pet dog.
Winchester City Council prosecuted David Townsend, 40, and Louise Townsend, 36, of Bishop’s Waltham after initially being called to their home following complaints about dog barking last July.
City council animal welfare officer Emily Bowen and colleague Sandi Goldman discovered a female adult Shit-zu dog named Boo Boo who had been left in a wire crate for long periods and who was covered in her own urine and faeces.
Her eye had been removed due to a dog attack a few years earlier, but the wound had not been cleaned, looked after or checked by a vet.
Vets decided it was in Boo Boo’s best interests that she be put to sleep.
The Townsends, of Battery Hill, admitted a range of offences: causing unnecessary suffering to their dog; failing to protect the animal from pain, suffering, injury and disease; and failing to provide suitable accommodation.
Fareham Magistrates’ Court fined the couple £1,000 each and disqualified them from keeping animals for five years.
Cllr Roger Huxstep, Winchester City Council’s portfolio holder for environment, said: “This case sends an important message for all to know that we will not tolerate animal cruelty.”
