Alyshia Diana Taylor appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on Tuesday 26 March after previously pleading guilty to three offences under the Animal Welfare Act.
The court heard that she caused unnecessary suffering by failing to provide a female bull breed type dog named Dior with a suitable diet. Her dead body was found in a kennel with her ribs clearly visible and a post mortem found she had wood particles in her stomach which she had eaten to try to satisfy her hunger.
Taylor also admitted the same charge in relation to a female Chow Chow type dog named Storm who was found in an emaciated state. A third offence was that she failed to ensure that the needs of Storm and a male Chow Chow type puppy named Chase, were met. Both were found in a faeces-strewn house in Cromwell Road, Newport
Taylor was sentenced to 36 weeks custody suspended for 18 months along with a 10 day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement. She was also handed a disqualification order banning her from keeping any animal for 10 years. She was also ordered to pay £975 towards costs.
In a witness statement, provided to the court, RSPCA Inspector Sophie Daniels said it was on Monday 30 January in 2023 that a call came to the charity from the police regarding two dogs that had been removed from the house. The dogs had been taken to a vets for an examination and treatment. Inspector Daniels was also told there was a dead dog at the property.
She said: “I established that of the two dogs removed, both of which were black Chow Chows, the adult female was in an emaciated condition and had been deemed to be in a suffering state by the vet and, her male puppy, was found to be thin and as such not having his needs met.”
When Inspector Daniels attended to remove the body from the property, she said: “There were toys and belongings cluttering the floor and there was a strong smell of dog. I walked through to a back room with lots of clutter left around.
“On the table, amongst other items, I saw an empty box of Bakers dog food and on the floor by the sofa, was an unopened sack of dry dog food.
“The kitchen was at the back of the property and was filthy with dog faeces all over the floor. The faeces was particularly concentrated by the back patio doors. There was a plastic dog bed on the floor by the back doors, which contained a dirty blanket. There were some plastic takeaway containers on the floor with a drop of water contained.”
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Outside in an enclosure furthest away from the house she said there were lots of dog faeces, a tipped over empty bucket and two silver dog bowls containing a small amount of brown/yellow dirty liquid. It was in the back corner of the pen of a wooden open-fronted kennel, which contained the dead dog – Dior.
Inspector Daniels said: “The dog was laying on its left side on dirty bedding and there was an extremely strong smell of decay. The body was extremely thin with ribs visible. The eyes were sunken and there was dark/bloody liquid coming from the dog’s mouth and nose.”
She also noted that as she removed the body, large maggots – some over one centimetres in length – fell from the body.
The body of Dior was examined by a vet and was also sent away for a post mortem examination.
The vet said Dior was just under three years old – according to her microchip. In a witness statement, provided to the court, he said: “The body was emaciated with very little muscle mass remaining on her body.”
Following the post mortem report, he said: “The report showed that she had two bruises on her neck, wood throughout her guts and had died due to necrosis (or cell death) of multiple areas of her heart, the cause for the necrosis was not able to be determined.
“However the other changes of muscle mass loss, and severe loss of fat throughout the body indicates a severe energy imbalance or lack of food prior to her death.
“With her body at the lowest end of body condition score at one out of nine, this means that if she had had no food at all and just access to water, to get to the condition she was found in from a normal condition would have taken between two to three weeks of starvation, longer if she had access to food in that time.
“It is my professional opinion that Dior was allowed to suffer unnecessarily by her owner/carer from hunger due to lack of feeding over a prolonged period of time.”
Sadly, despite recovering from her emaciated condition, Chow Chow Storm, was found to have a debilitating condition so on veterinary advice to prevent further suffering it was decided to put her to sleep. Chase has been happily rehomed by the RSPCA.
