A North Shields woman has been banned from keeping dogs for five years for allowing her bullmastiff to suffer for months with poor health.
Stephanie Neesam, 23, from Horsham Grove, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to her dog called Viper. The bullmastiff had been left without veterinary care for a tumour on her left elbow, a skin condition, and weight loss.
When RSPCA Inspector Kirsty Keogh-Laws visited Neesam as part of her investigation she found Viper had thickened patches of skin on her back, tail and paw which was hot to touch and caused her irritation as she was scratching at them. Viper also had a flea infestation which Neesam said she had attempted to treat by using alternative products bought on the internet.
During the course of an interview, Neesam claimed the way that she was treating Viper was the way the dog would have been treated by a vet. She admitted that she had not sought any veterinary advice or treatment.
Inspector Keough-Laws took Viper to a vet to be examined who concluded Viper’s tumour would have been present for at least a month and the chronicity of her skin lesion indicated she had been suffering for a number of months. Viper underwent an operation to remove the tumour on her leg and has been recovering at the RSPCA’s Felledge Animal centre.
She will soon be looking for her forever home.
Neesam was sentenced at Newcastle Magistrates Court on Thursday, April 7, following a prosecution brought by the RSPCA. She was banned from keeping dogs for five years and handed a 12-month community order to include 180 hours unpaid work and she was ordered to pay £300 costs with a £95 victim surcharge. The judge gave her 21 days to rehome her remaining dogs.
Following the sentencing hearing, Inspector Keough-Laws said: “The suffering caused to Viper could have been avoided if Neesem had taken responsibility for her welfare and sought the veterinary attention she desperately needed. Animals are completely reliant on their owners, there is never an excuse to ignore their needs and leave an animal to suffer in the way Viper did.
"We would always ask anyone who has any concerns about animal cruelty to contact us on 0300 1234 999."
