A North Shields woman has been banned from keeping dogs for five years for leaving her bullmastiff to suffer for months with poor health.
Stephanie Neesam, 23, of Horsham Grove, has pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to her dog called Viper. The bullmastiff had been left without veterinary care for a tumor in his left elbow, a skin condition and weight loss.
When RSPCA Inspector Kirsty Keogh-Laws visited Neesam as part of her investigation, she found that Viper had thickened patches of skin on her back, tail and paw which were hot to the touch and caused her to caused irritation as she scratched them. Viper also had a flea infestation which Neesam said he tried to treat using alternative products purchased over the internet.
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During an interview, Neesam claimed that the way she treated Viper was how the dog would have been treated by a veterinarian. She admitted that she had not sought any veterinary advice or treatment.
Inspector Keough-Laws took Viper to a vet for examination, who concluded that Viper’s tumor had been present for at least a month and that the chronicity of her skin lesion indicated that she had been in pain for several months. . Viper underwent surgery to remove the tumor on his leg and is recovering at the RSPCA’s Felledge Animal Centre.
(Image: RSPCA)
She will soon be looking for her forever home.
Neesam was sentenced at Newcastle Magistrates Court on Thursday April 7, following a prosecution brought by the RSPCA. She was banned from keeping dogs for five years and given a 12-month community order to include 180 hours of unpaid work and she was ordered to pay £300 in costs with a victim surcharge of £95. The judge gave him 21 days to relocate his remaining dogs.
Following the sentencing hearing, Inspector Keough-Laws said: ‘The suffering caused to Viper could have been avoided had Neesem taken responsibility for her welfare and sought the veterinary care she needed. desperately needed. Animals are completely dependent on their owners, there is never an excuse to ignore their needs and let an animal suffer like Viper did.
“We always ask anyone concerned about animal cruelty to contact us on 0300 1234 999.”
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