Ban and suspended jail time for woman who let terrier starve to death in filthy run near Worksop

Amy Cheeseman, (date of birth: 7/4/1995), of Beverley Walk, Carlton-in-Lindrick near Worksop, was prosecuted by the RSPCA after the dog, called Buddy, was discovered during a follow-up visit by one of the animal charity’s inspectors.

Cheeseman pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to Buddy by failing to address the cause of his poor body condition and weight loss and she also admitted to failing to ensure the needs of the dog were met.

She appeared for sentencing at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court on June 6, where as well as the disqualification she was handed a 26-week prison sentence which the magistrates suspended for 12 months.

Cheeseman was ordered to do 80 hours of unpaid work and complete 20 Rehabilitation Activity Days (RAR) and pay costs of £400 as well as a victim surcharge of £154.

Buddy was found dead inside his kennel in a run littered with faeces and torn bedding on January 5 this year by RSPCA Inspector Daniel Bradshaw who was following up two previous visits to the defendant’s home after reports of concerns about the welfare of dogs.

Cheeseman showed the inspector to the run outside the property and told him she’d thought the dog had escaped.

She called out his name, but when the inspector bent down and looked inside the kennel he found the body of the black and white coloured Jack Russell.

In a statement presented to the court, Inspector Bradshaw said: “The owner said the dog was alive the previous afternoon.

“There was no access to the kennel which was wet through and contained a mixture of shredded bedding and some faeces.

“So I went to my van and got a grab stick which I used to remove Buddy's body from the kennel.

“He was stiff and rigamortis had set in, his teeth appeared in terrible condition with large chunks of tartar build-up and he also had a piece of stuffing located in his mouth.

“I saw the water in Buddy’s kennel had a green film over it and there was no clean dry area for him to lay comfortably.”

A post-mortem report found Buddy died because of an acute gastrointestinal haemorrhage, an episode which was complicated by his emaciated state.

A vet estimated the dog had not been fed properly for six to 12 weeks and possibly longer and stated in a report: “In the absence of a pathological process to explain his weight loss, we can assume his emaciated condition was due to starvation.”

Magistrates said the matter was so serious they considered imposing a custodial sentence but decided to suspend the jail term after taking into consideration the defendant’s early guilty plea and mitigating factors.

The court was told that Cheeseman had been the victim of domestic violence and she suffered from poor mental health.

Speaking after the sentencing, Inspector Bradshaw said: “This poor dog was left to suffer by the defendant who failed to address his drastic weight loss while keeping him in appalling living conditions outside her home.”