Birmingham couple banned from keeping pets after dog cruelty

Nov 21 2009 by Ross McCarthy, Birmingham Mail

A BIRMINGHAM couple allowed their pet dog to suffer by keeping it in a pen after it had been paralysed from the waist down, a court heard.

Ann McDowall, 53 and Robert McDowall, 47, both of Coniston Crescent, Hamstead, each admitted two animal cruelty charges and were sentenced to a 12-month community order.

They were also ordered to each pay £250 costs and were banned from keeping a pet, apart from the cat they own, for three years.

Nick Sutton, prosecuting at Birmingham Magistrates’ court, said an RSPCA officer who went to their home found a 12-year-old German Shepherd called Zac in a pen in the back garden. Rafe Turner, defending, said both the defendants had financial problems and Mrs McDowall had not been able to look after the dog properly because of illness.

Deputy District Judge Tindal said the couples’ failure to take the dog to a vet meant it suffered greatly.