The Scottish SPCA have welcomed the lifetime ban given to a Fife man who was convicted of “appalling” animal neglect.
The 25-year-old failed to provide vet treatment for the dog, who was suffering from blunt force trauma to her neck, before she was later found dead with blood coming out her mouth.
He also admitted failing to meet the needs of the animals between March and May this year by not providing adequate ventilation, nutrition, hydration and hygienic living conditions.
The court was told that the first offender had struggled to deal with a break up from a long term partner which resulted in his finances being affected.
He called the SSPCA himself after finding Mercury dead on the floor of his living room on May 1 prompting the investigation.
Scottish SPCA Senior Inspector Steven Gray said, “We sadly discovered Mercury, a female German shepherd, dead with blood pooled around her mouth inside Kyle’s home.
“Upon a veterinary post-mortem examination, Mercury was scored with a body condition score of 1/9.
“She weighed 16.2kg, which is just over half of what she should have, and had nearly no body fat.
“The post-mortem also concluded there had been blunt trauma to the ventral and left side of the neck, cohesive with being hit with a blunt object or kicked.
“She will have shown pain due to the trauma and veterinary attention should have been sought.
“Both Mars and Jupiter, the cats, were seen by a vet and were given body scores of 4/9 and 3/9 respectively. Both cats were covered in fleas and dirt.
“Kyle admitted to abandoning Mercury, Jupiter and Mars between 23 April and 2 May.
“I’m happy the courts have dealt with this case and this sentence handed out.
“This level of neglect didn’t happen overnight and could have easily been avoided.”
Passing sentence at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court last week, Sheriff Alastair Thornton said:“I’ve heard some pretty appalling details about this case and the state of these animals.
“The neglect seems to be quite extreme and the suffering of these animals, two of which are at least still alive, must have been very great indeed.”
Kyle was banned from owning animals for life and was ordered to perform 270 hours unpaid work within six months.
