Animal ban for woman who starved her dog to death

A woman who allowed her dog to starve and buried the emaciated body in a communal area where she lived has been banned from keeping animals for ten years.

Lana Killian of Devon Road, Wednesbury, pleaded guilty to animal neglect, following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.

RSPCA Inspector Vicki Taylor visited her home address after concerns were raised about the welfare of her dog, a greyhound type dog named Zeus.

Killen said he’d died on March 6 and was buried in a communal area. She initially claimed the dog had been seen by vets just days earlier but following investigations this was proved to be untrue.

Inspector Taylor received a photograph from the police showing the deceased dog before burial; the image showed the black dog was emaciated with bones visible through his fur.

With an exhumation order, the Inspector and police recovered the dog's body from a shallow grave. He was found to be extremely underweight with its spine, ribs, and pelvis easily visible.

His body was taken for a postmortem, and subsequent enquiries with vets confirmed they had no record of seeing the dog, contradicting Killian's earlier statement.

In their report to the court, the vet who examined the  body said: “The owner of Zeus failed to take reasonable steps to provide an appropriate diet to the extent required by good practice.

"Zeus was in extremely poor body condition and with no other underlying diseases, meaning that chronic, long term starvation was his most likely cause of death.

“I would have expected a reasonable owner to have recognised the dog that the dog was losing weight and condition and to initially have increased the dog’s diet and/or seek veterinary advice.

“As a result of the failure to provide an appropriate diet, Zeus, will have suffered unnecessarily due to feelings of weakness, hunger and distress. This could have been avoided by providing an appropriate diet and by seeking veterinary attention for poor body condition.”

Alongside the ten year ban from keeping animals, which she can not appeal to have lifted for five years, she was also sentenced to an 18 month community order with 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

She was also ordered to pay £350 and a £114 victim surcharge when she was sentenced at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court on July 2. In mitigation, she said she was very sorry and struggles with mental health.

Inspector Ben Jones, who investigated for the charity, added after the hearing: "The suffering that Zeus must have experienced is deeply distressing. It is the responsibility of the owners to ensure the wellbeing of their pets and protect them from harm.”