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Willenhall dog owner receives animal ban after starving rottweiler

A dog which was rescued after it was seen clawing its way out of its kennel had to be put down due to starvation.

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Maisie the rottweiler was rescued after she was spotted clawing at the floor of this kennel

The RSCPA believe rottweiler Maisie was severely neglected for up to three months and was in her 'final death throws' when she was recovered from a property in Willenhall.

Her owner Cathryn Tarbuck has now been handed a life ban on keeping animals by magistrates.

One of the defendant's friends spotted Maisie digging at the floor of her kennel at the property on St. Stephens Avenue on January 27 this year.

They immediately contacted a vet who had no choice but to put the dog to sleep due to her poor condition.

Tarbuck, aged 28, has since been found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog and failing to meet her needs.

At Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Monday she was disqualified from ever keeping animals again, handed a 12-month community order and was ordered to pay a £50 fine and £385 court costs.

RSPCA inspector Dawn Burrell said: “Maisie was trying to dig her way out of her kennel but she was clearly weak. Tarbuck’s friend helped get Maisie out and then said to Tarbuck, ‘She is in a really bad way’.

“The vet who came to assess Maisie said that she had been suffering and sadly she was put to sleep on humane grounds. She had likely been suffering for at least three months.

“When she was trying to dig her way out of her kennel, she was in her final death throes. It is so sad that she had been left to suffer like that and for her life to end during such a period of distress.

“There is simply no excuse to neglect an animal like this. This was a case of extreme neglect for a long period of time. If you have a pet, you are legally responsible to ensure that their needs are met - something Tarbuck clearly failed to do.”