An Edinburgh man who neglected his puppy who was suffering from brain damage has been banned from keeping dogs for four years and fined £1,000 following a Scottish SPCA investigation.
Alistair Stuart, 36, of Keith Crescent, was sentenced at the city’s sheriff court on Thursday (27 February).
Stuart pled guilty to failing to provide necessary veterinary attention for his five-month-old Yorkshire terrier puppy named Angel, contrary to the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.
Commenting on the investigation and court case, Inspector June Chalcroft said, “We were contacted after Angel was taken to a vets suffering from a prolonged and sustained seizure.
“She was in an extremely bad way and had clinical signs of brain damage and, sadly, the vet had no option but to put her to sleep as she would not have recovered.
“The vet concluded that Angel had endured suffering as a result of Stuart’s failure to provide earlier veterinary attention.
“During questioning, Stuart admitted being aware that Angel was extremely unwell and that he should have taken her to a vets sooner and we are very disappointed the court has not issued a life ban on keeping all animals.
“In our opinion, this is the only way to prevent any other animals suffering under Stuart’s care.”
Photo by Scottish SPCA
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
