A couple have been banned from keeping animals for 10 years after they allowed their dog to starve to death.
Paulina Goetzen, 32, and Petrica Danila, 29, admitted failing to provide adequate nutrition for their American Bulldog Grizzly.
The pair took Grizzly’s emaciated body to the vets and informed staff he had died.
A vet was concerned about the animal’s condition and contacted the RSPCA.
Grizzy weighed just 15kg, as reported by Need To Know.
A postmortem showed that Grizzly had died from asphyxiation due to choking on some food the pair’s home in Luton, Bedfordshire,
But the vet said the dog showed an absence of fat tissue, muscle wastage and serous atrophy of the bone marrow which are consistent with a prolonged period of starvation.
Inspector Susan Haywood said: “When I saw Grizzly’s body, it was immediately apparent that he was emaciated as all his bones and in particular his ribs were sticking out from his body.
“This poor dog would have suffered and as the vet report concluded, this could have been for a prolonged period of time.
“Pets rely on us to ensure their needs are met and there is no excuse to allow your pet to get into this sorry state.”
The vet said he had been caused to suffer for at least two weeks but possibly longer and would have suffered from weakness, fatigue, exercise intolerance and discomfort.
Goetzen and Danila said they were very sorry and that they didn’t have the money to take the dog to the vet and knew they should have sooner.
The court also heard that Goetzen has three children and suffers from multiple sclerosis.
Danila and Goetzen were sentenced to 16 weeks in custody, suspended for 12 months.
Danila was additionally required to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work but no requirements were placed on Goetzen due to her medical issues.
They were also banned from keeping all animals for 10 years and ordered to pay £1,696.31 each to be paid at a rate of £50 per month.
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