SOUTHEND RESIDENTS GET 10-YEAR ANIMAL BAN AFTER DOG NEGLECT
TWO people from Southend who neglected a Staffordshire bull terrier have received 10-year animal bans after a prosecution by the RSPCA.Rosanne Penfold, 37, and Gareth Fitton, 40, both of Brightwell Avenue, Southend, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
In addition to the ban, Penfold and Fitton were handed 16-week prison sentences which were suspended for 12 months and they were both told to undertake ten rehabilitation days when they appeared for sentencing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, September 2.
Leanna Hone, RSPCA inspector, told the court she went to Blue Cross Animal Hospital in Pimlico on March 21 2024 to collect a black and white Staffie called Betty who had been brought into the hospital by Penfold and Fitton after she collapsed at a flat at Rosemary Court in Ferdinand Drive, Peckham a week before.
The inspector said that Betty appeared to be “very thin”, with her ribs, spine and hips easily visible, and the fur on her lower legs stained in urine.
A vet at the hospital who examined the three-year-old dog said Betty was suffering with muscle wastage, and in a body condition rating she scored the canine one out of nine - a state of emaciation.
Betty also had a wound on her tail that had scabbed over and she was suffering from ulcers on her feet and overgrown nails.
The court heard that Penfold and Fitton had left the dog in the care of Shane Dixon, from Peckham, who was Penfold’s neighbour, after she left south London to live in Essex.
Dixon, 45, pleaded guilty to failing to address the canine’s weight loss under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
He claimed he only went “occasionally” to the property to let Betty and some other dogs out and claimed he was being blamed for the situation.
In mitigation, the court was told that Penfold suffered from disabilities and had been the victim of domestic abuse, with Fitton and Dixon said to be remorseful about their actions.
All three defendants will each have to pay a contribution to costs of £650 and victim surcharges of £154.
Betty has since made a good recovery in the care of the RSPCA and has since been rehomed to a loving new owner.
Speaking after the sentencing, Inspector Hone said: “Whatever arrangement was made to care for Betty, she was neglected so badly that she collapsed at this flat and required hospital treatment.
The defendants had failed in their duty of care for the dog, but thankfully Betty has recovered and the story has a happy ending, as she is doing so well in her new home.”
