HARTLEPOOL COUPLE JAILED FOR STARVING AND LOCKING DOGS IN CUPBOARD
A couple who kept two dogs locked in a cupboard under the stairs and starved them almost to death have been jailed.
Graham Burn, 46, and Ann Boddy, 34, caused 'prolonged suffering' to a mastiff-type and a terrier.
The pair, of Burbank Street, Hartlepool, were found guilty of two section 4 offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 at Teesside Magistrates Court.
They each received a jail sentence of 12 weeks and were banned from keeping animals for life.
RSPCA inspector Lucy Hoehne had been visiting the address for over a year due to concerns over the dogs' welfare.
She mentioned: 'I'd been giving advice and offering assistance and, initially, they made some improvements but then they stopped answering the door to me or letting me in.' She further added: 'Eventually, when I managed to speak to them, they told me they didn't have the dogs any more, but I was able to establish that the dogs were actually being kept locked in a cupboard under the stairs.' District Judge Harrison described the case as an example of prolonged neglect, involving a lengthy period of starvation that nearly resulted in death.
The dogs have now been re-homed.
Court Outcome
Conviction and Sentencing Details
Sentenced
Detected legal outcome
ty of two section 4 offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 at Teesside Magistrates Court. They each received a jail sentence of 12 weeks and were banned from keeping animals for life. RSPCA inspector Lucy Hoehne had been visiting the...
Prison sentence
A couple who kept two dogs locked in a cupboard under the stairs and starved them almost to death have been jailed
Disqualification or ban
life
They each received a jail sentence of 12 weeks and were banned from keeping animals for life
