A woman has been issued with a lifetime ban from keeping dogs and a suspended prison sentence after a prosecution by the RSPCA.

Amber May Hume, 20, of Allen Road, Hedge End, and her 42-year-old mother Helen Drew, of 16th Avenue, Hull, admitted an animal welfare offence.

They failed to investigate the cause of the poor body condition and weight loss of the dog called Patch.

They appeared for sentencing at Hull Magistrates’ Court on September 13 when they were both handed 26-week prison sentences which were suspended for 12 months.

The Staffordshire bull terrier was found in an emaciated condition at Drew’s home by RSPCA Inspector Natalie Hill on October 2, 2023, after the animal charity’s cruelty line received a report of an underweight dog.

The canine was suffering from an autoimmune disease which caused his jaw to lock preventing him from eating.

The animal was taken to vets by the inspector, but despite treatment his prognosis was poor and sadly it was decided that the kindest thing to do was to put him to sleep to end his suffering.

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Patch was found in a skeletal condition by the RSPCA (Image: RSPCA) The inspector said in a statement presented to the court that she couldn’t tell what breed the dog was because of his skeletal appearance.

The inspector said: “Every bone on his body was showing, his head was concave to the top and the blue collar that he had on was hanging very loose around his neck.”

The inspector was informed that Patch had been seen by a PDSA vet a month before, but after he developed an issue opening his mouth the defendants did not take him back to the vets because of a “lack of finances”. 

His jaw was locked shut and during the examination, when the vet tried offering a treat to the dog, he was unable to open his mouth to take it.

Patch weighed only 11.6kg when he was admitted at the vets and his body condition score was two out of nine.

In a vet’s expert opinion, the dog was suffering from a disease called Masticatory Muscle Myositis and was malnourished.

As part of their suspended sentences, the magistrates, who were visibly upset when passing sentence, ordered the defendants to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

The court was told that mitigating circumstances for Hume was that she was confused as to who should take responsibility for the dog as she was looking to move out of the Hull area at the time. She was also on medication after suffering trauma, it was said.

Both defendants were each told to pay court costs of £400 and a victim surcharge of £187.

After the sentencing, Inspector Hill said: “This was one of the most upsetting cases I’ve dealt with.”