A woman who left her pet dogs ill and suffering weeks of pain without treatment has been prosecuted and banned from keeping animals.
The animals were suffering from constant pain, infections, and mobility issues inside a Fulwood home which was covered in faeces and urine.
While one dog was in condition where recovery was viable, three of Michelle Batty’s four pets were in desperate need of care while living in conditions described by an RSPCA inspector as “squalor”.
Batty, of Robinson Street in the Plungington area of Preston, was prosecuted by the RSPCA after they were found suffering with foot and leg lesions. They were in such poor health that a vet decided the kindest course of action was to put them to sleep.
RSPCA Deputy Chief Inspector Kelly Nix went to the defendant’s property on October 6 last year when the police were in attendance. French bulldogs Buddy and Finn were struggling to walk and their nails had curled around into their foot pads. The back toes of a spaniel called Tilly were bleeding and oozing.
In a statement the officer said: “I was immediately hit by the smell of urine and faeces at the property. Buddy’s legs were bent backwards and his nails were overgrown with some curling around into his pads. I tried to encourage him to walk, but he was wobbly and his legs were dragging.
“Finn was also struggling to walk and I could see all his nails had curled over into his pads causing open wounds, while Tilly had open sores on her back toes.”
Another dog found at the property, a cocker spaniel called Lesley, was in relatively good health. Batty told the officer that she had not taken the dogs to a vet. All four were seized and taken to the RSPCA Greater Manchester Animal Hospital.
A vet who examined the canines said that Buddy could not walk on his back legs as he was suffering from a degenerative spinal condition and his nails were overgrown and penetrating his skin which would have left him in pain for at least two weeks. The spinal condition meant the prognosis for Buddy was poor as he had severely reduced mobility and was unable to control his bladder.
Finn was very lame and he was suffering from pain for at least a week because of an infected wound from an overgrown nail. His behavioural problems also meant he struggled to adapt to life in kennels after he was removed from the property.
Tilly had suffered for at least two weeks due to pain caused by the chronic infected wounds at the end of the toes of her back legs. Her toes were missing nails and parts of the toe bones. All the issues meant she would have suffered ongoing pain and had a poor quality of life. Because of the poor prognosis for them, Buddy, Finn and Tilly were put to sleep.
The vet added: “All four dogs also did not have their needs met as the property in which they were living was filthy with faeces and urine-covered floors.”
Batty, 48, appeared for sentencing after pleading guilty to four animal welfare offences at Preston Magistrates’ Court on July 15. As well as the disqualification she was made subject to a 12-month community order which requires her to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and undertake 10 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) days.
The court heard that Batty was said to be remorseful for her actions and that she had no previous convictions. She also signed the dogs over to the RSPCA and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £144.
Lesley has been discharged from the hospital and she has spent time in RSPCA-approved accommodation and will now be rehomed.
Speaking after the sentencing, Deputy Chief Inspector Nix said: “These poor dogs were left without veterinary care in dreadful conditions at the defendant’s property. Some of them already had health issues and the failure to take care of them and address the filth and squalor they were living in made matters worse.”
