Police found a dog dead and decomposing in a flat and called in the RSPCA who discovered it had died after being left alone for days at a time with no food or water. The body was of a bulldog named Coco, who belonged to Leanne Brookshaw, 32 and her husband Jonathan Brookshaw, 36.
A court heard that police entered the flat on May last year to find no-one was home. They noticed a strong smell and lots of flies. An officer saw the dead dog on the floor.
Peter Mitchell, prosecuting, said: “He saw the flat was in a total state, with dog faeces on the floor and no sign of any food or water for the dog.” The officer contacted the RSPCA, and Inspector Anthony Joynes attended the flat. He reported an “overwhelming smell of decomposition, faeces and urine”, reports The Echo.
Faeces and dried diarrhoea were on the floor of the flat, there was no food and there were several dry water bowls. Leanne Brookshaw said she had been paying a man to care for the. When questioned, she said: “We’ve been struggling yeah, I was there three or four days ago, she was skinny but she was alive.
“She couldn't come with us because she was s***ing and p***ing everywhere.” She said she had been given the dog on breeding terms months earlier, but admitted it may have been more than five days since she last checked on the dog.
The newly married coupled moved out of the flat but did not take the dog as they claimed it would be attacked by their other dog, Molly.
Jonathan Brookshaw said he hadn't visited the flat in Dorset Gardens, Birkenhead for months having moved out in November 2021. His wife moved in March, 2022. The dog had been left at the property for two months.
Jonathan Brookshaw’s dog Molly has now been rehomed. They were sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment each, suspended for 12 months. They were ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work each, and rehabilitation activity days.
Both were told to pay £500 in prosecution costs, plus a victim surcharge of £128, and were disqualified from owning an animal for five years.
