A starving dog abandoned by her owner became so hungry he ate a plastic bag and a fake fingernail.
Sick Bethany Butterworth’s white and brown bull breed – called Reuben – was found dead in the garden.
The 27-year-old had moved out but said she went back every day to feed him.
But RSPCA officers went round on 17 March last year after a tip-off.
They found the body of poor Reuben wrapped up in a duvet in a black storage box outside.
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Butterworth lied and said someone else must have put him there.
But she later admitted she and found him dead a month earlier and put him in the box at the house in Glaister Lane, Bolton, Gtr. Mancs.
The postmortem found nine-year-old Reuben had a plastic bag and a piece of acrylic nail in his stomach.
He also had five fractured ribs and had multiple missing teeth.
Butterworth admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the dog under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
She was given a 12 week custodial sentence, suspended for a year at Wigan magistrates court.
She was also banned from keeping animals for five years following prosecution by the RSPCA.
RSPCA Inspector Beth Fazackerley said in written evidence to the court: “We received no reply at the front door so we walked around the side and back of the house to see if we could see anybody or any animals.
“In the garden I saw a seemingly unused dog crate and dog bowl and an empty fish tank.
“There was a black storage box and inside we found a deceased, white and brown bull breed type dog wrapped inside a duvet cover.
“I rang the police for assistance and made further local enquiries and was informed that the tenant used to have three dogs of varying descriptions.
“One of those descriptions matched the deceased dog we had observed in the storage box and was called Reuben.”
An RSPCA spokesperson said: “The inspector was given a mobile number for Butterworth who initially told her that if there was a dead dog in her garden she did not know about it and that someone must have put it there.
“A post mortem report found Reuben had an untreated skin lesion, five fractured ribs, three of which were in a later stage of healing, and multiple missing teeth – with those that remained showing severe wear and tear and root exposure.
“A plastic bag and a piece of acrylic nail were also found in his stomach.
“When interviewed by the RSPCA inspector, Butterworth admitted that she was responsible for Reuben but claimed she was returning daily to feed him.
“She said she had returned to the house in February to find him dead and then put his body in the storage box in the back garden.”
Speaking after the case Inspector Fazackerley said: “This was an extremely upsetting investigation and one that will stay with me and my colleague for a long time.
“Reuben was an elderly dog with deteriorating health who should have received the appropriate care and veterinary support in his twilight years.
“Instead he was left to waste away, to the point of starvation, over a considerable period of time, and then disposed of in the garden and forgotten about.”
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