Dogs left in squalor taken away

NEGLECTED . . . the dogs have now been taken off Alahana Miller

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Pets were without food, water

A DOG owner has had her pets taken away after she left them for two days without food and water in a faeces-covered stairwell.

Alahana Miller, who now lives in Carthage Street, Hathershaw, pleaded guilty to the charge of failing to meet the needs of two dogs by failing to provide a suitable environment.

The 25-year-old left five-year-old boxer dogs Decoy and Philly, who she has had since they were puppies, alone in her flat in Kirkfell Walk, Hathershaw, while she stayed with a sick relative in January. A concerned neighbour alerted the RSPCA.

When RSPCA inspector Susie Micallef visited, she found the letter box covered in faeces and once inside found the entire floor and stairs covered in dog muck. There was no food or water available and nowhere for the dogs to sleep.

The dogs were taken to boarding kennels in Keighley, West Yorkshire, where they were assessed by a vet as being alert and in good condition with glossy coats.

Graham Whittingham, defending, told magistrates that Miss Miller had always taken great care of the dogs and this had been the first incident of this nature.

He added: “These were an unfortunate set of circumstances that caused her to leave the dogs. Her grandmother was ill and she had to rush out to stay with her and she could not take the dogs with her. She left enough food and water out to last the dogs for two days. This was an isolated, one-off incident.”

Newspaper had been left to prop open the door to the flat to give the dogs the run of the property and access to their bedding in the living room and bedroom but they had ripped it up causing the door to close and trap them in the stairwell.

Mr Whittingham said Miss Miller had visited the dogs regularly at the boarding kennels and arranged veterinary treatment when one of them caught an ear infection.

Since this incident, Miss Miller has moved from a flat to a house which has an enclosed garden giving the dogs more space to exercise.

Chairman of the bench, Wendy Rawson, said: “The vet said the dogs were in good condition but you were reckless in your actions and the harm caused is the short-term neglect of your dogs.”

Miss Miler was ordered to pay £2,316 costs by December 11 and given 60 hours’ unpaid work. She has also been banned from keeping any animal for a year and has had her two dogs confiscated.