Man failed to help puppy whose tail fell out
0 Comments | Lincolnshire Echo, Apr 17, 2009
A Lincolnshire man appeared in court after failing to seek veterinary care for a puppy after its tail was docked and the stump became infected.
Paul Maher (42) sold the female white and tan Jack Russell to Patricia Walker who took the animal to the vets.
Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard that the dog was one of several in a litter which Maher advertised on the Internet.
Mrs Walker’s dog, whom she named Molly, had previously been sold to a traveller from Newark for pounds200 who changed his mind, returned the dog to Maher and got his money back.
Gordon Holt, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said that traveller Anthony Newby brought the puppy back with a rubber band tied tightly around its tail.
“The case against Mr Maher is that it was obvious to him that the dog had a rubber band tied very tightly around her tail,” Mr Holt said.
“It caused the tail to fall off. That process was entirely due to Mr Newby.
“But this case is that it was clear to Maher that the dog was suffering and in pain due to the rubber band around the tail.
“Mrs Walker took the animal to a vet who examined it and found an infection in the stump of the tail.”
Maher, of Park Farm, Eagle Lane, Morton, near Gainsborough, admitted one charge of causing an animal unnecessary suffering by failing to provide adequate veterinary treatment between August 1 and October 17 last year.
Leo Pyle, in mitigation, said it was “an offence of omission rather than commission”.
Magistrates fined Maher, who runs a plant hire business, pounds200 plus a pounds15 surcharge and ordered him to pay pounds180 costs.
The bench said they would not ban him from keeping animals due to positive testimonials about his care of animals.
For more on the Maher court case, see Friday’s Echo.
