Eastbourne pair sentenced after death of pet dog who they left home alone while they went on holiday

Keith Byrne and Sophie Singer, of Beauchamp Court, Wilmington Gardens, were sentenced yesterday (April 22) at Lewes Crown Court, after being found guilty of three Animal Welfare Act offences at an earlier hearing, said the RSPCA.

The court heard how the pair left their 14-year-old pet boxer dog Bentley home alone in a ‘terrible condition’ to go on a family holiday in 2022. Concerned neighbours found the dog ‘collapsed at the bottom of the stairs’ and contacted the RSPCA for help after ‘desperately trying to provide him with food’, the charity said.

Despite the best efforts of a veterinary team, Bentley died on February 2, 2022.

Byrne and Singer had claimed they loved the dog, and blamed his ailing health on his age, according to the RSPCA, while a judge said the pair had behaved ‘appallingly’.

After disqualifying both Byrne and Singer from owning all animals for five years, with no appeal for three years, Judge Laing KC said: “[The dog’s] ribs and pelvis were plain for anyone to see, his skin was in a terrible state and you could not have failed to miss these factors.

"You have stated some bizarre reasoning which you insist upon in your defence. This is a ridiculous account and this dog was clearly suffering substantially.

"You have behaved appallingly and I'm at a loss to understand how you could let this happen.”

Keith Byrne was sentenced to nine months custody, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work, while Sophie Singer was sentenced to six months custody, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, the RSPCA confirmed. Both were ordered to pay £350 costs.

RSPCA Inspector Tony Woodley, who attended the scene, said: “I stepped to the base of the stairs and could see the dog, a tan coloured boxer type dog.

"The dog was emaciated and I was not sure it was alive. I touched the dog’s face and he twitched.

"I immediately dialled 999 and was given permission to remove the dog for emergency treatment.

“I saw some food at the base of the stairs and a bowl of water. The other residents of nearby properties advised me that they had placed the food and water for the dog. I saw that the dog’s ribs, hips and spine were prominent and the nails on its paws were extremely overgrown and curling around.

"The dog’s eyes were sunken.”

A full post mortem was carried out and found that Bentley was in ‘extremely poor body condition’, while his ‘stomach contained a large amount of rubbish, including numerous food wrappers and a felt pen’, which are ‘indicative of scavenging due to hunger’, a veterinary pathologist said.

Bentley also had pressure sores on his elbows and ankles, large areas of alopecia, and a lower bowel perforation caused by ‘movement of the foreign body through the upper intestine’.

After sentencing, Inspector Woodley said: “This poor dog was suffering in pain while his owners, who had left him, went on a family holiday.

“The owners of the dog had clearly failed to provide for Bentley and the claim that he was ‘old and tired’ does not excuse the suffering he was caused through the inactions of Byrne and Singer.

“This case should be seen as a clear warning that just because an animal is old this does not mean that an owner has an excuse not to provide it with basic care and veterinary treatment.”