Emaciated dog put down after owner 'could not afford to take her to vet'

An emaciated dog had to be put down after her owner claimed he could not afford to take her to a vet.

Crossbreed Sacha weighed just 26 pounds when she was found collapsed on a kitchen floor at a flat in Withins Drive, Bolton. Her owner, Philip Robertson, has now been banned from keeping all animals for the rest of his life after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to Sacha.

The 49-year-old was also given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for one year, at Bolton Magistrates’ Court on June 6. Magistrates heard that RSPCA animal rescue officer Jessica Pierce had visited the property on January 3 of this year following welfare concerns for a dog that was living there.

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“I arrived at the address and was met by a man at the door who was not the owner of the dog but I was invited in and shown upstairs,” she said in her evidence. “In the kitchen I observed an elderly female brindle dog lying on an old coat on the floor.

"She was visibly very thin with every bone showing. When I tried to get her to stand up her feet were buckling underneath her and she wasn't able to walk more than a couple of steps. She had discharge in both of her eyes and ears and she was also coughing and it appeared to be a struggle for her to breathe.”

Police were called to assist and Sacha was seized under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. She was taken to the RSPCA’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital where she was examined by a vet on arrival and admitted for urgent treatment.

Sacha, who was between ten and 12 years old, was in an emaciated, lethargic state. Her ribs, lumbar vertebrae and pelvic bones were all visible from a distance, and the examination showed