Woman ignored vet's advice and put her dog through horrific suffering

A dog spent her final days in pain and died in agony after her owner failed to take her to a vet to get a cancerous growth treated. Tiny, a female Dogue de Bordeaux, suffered terrible distress due to the untreated tumour on her back for up to six months, a vet has said.

Her owner Christine Hogan has been banned from keeping animals for five years. The RSPCA prosecuted Hogan after being shown the open wound and rotting flash on Tiny's body at a pets' crematorium in Manchester.

A vet who examined the dog's body believes she had gone without treatment for up to six months and would have been in “chronic” pain when she died.

Hogan, 41, of Manchester Road, Heywood, pleaded guilty at Manchester Magistrates’ Court to causing unnecessary suffering, by failing to keep up veterinary treatment for her pet.

At her sentencing on January 14, she was also given a 12-month community order, to include ten Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days, fined £120 and told to pay a victim surcharge of £114.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE

RSPCA Inspector Ryan King said he attended the crematorium on 26 January last year: He said he saw “a large area that was missing fur and appeared to be an open wound” and could smell “infection and rotting flesh”.

Inspector King added in his statement: “I could see that the dog appeared to be underweight, the ribs and spine were easily visible.”

He went to Hogan’s home and she told him Tiny had cancer. He advised her that offences may have been committed and that he would need to conduct a voluntary interview with her.

However, over the next four months, Hogan repeatedly claimed she was unable to go ahead with the interview, citing a variety of reasons, and the officer had to take forward proceedings without one.

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