An elderly dog was left emaciated and covered in maggots after her owners neglected her for weeks.
Shy, a 13-year-old Neapolitan Mastiff had to be euthanised due to the severity of her condition when vets on the Wirral assessed her last summer.
Her owners, Arron Croston and June Pickup, were each handed suspended prison sentences and banned from owning dogs for a decade over their role in her neglect.
READ MORE: Owner 'loved dog like a daughter' but vets found her in vile state
Now, new pictures and footage released by the RSPCA show the extent of Shy's injuries after Croston and Pickup waited weeks to take her to a vet.
Vets at a surgery in Prenton were so horrified they contacted RSPCA workers after finding Shy with maggots crawling in one of her ears and pressure sores so severe they went down to her bone.
Neapolitan Mastiffs can weigh more than 50kg but Shy was severely emaciated, something surgeons at the University of Liverpool said could be explained by advanced cancer.
Maggots can be seen crawling in her ear, where she had a severe infection.
An RSPCA prosecutor said in court earlier this week that Shy's health problems were severe, chronic and painful in the weeks leading up to her death.
Mr Mitchell said Croston, her registered owner, had not been living with the dog in the run up to her death, with Croston having left the home he shared with Pickup following an affair.
He said the couple told interviewers they had not been able to get to the vets and had not realised the severity of her condition.
Both Croston and Pickup pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
Pickup's lawyer told a court earlier this week that she had agreed to look after the dog despite not having the financial ability to do so.
Croston told probation officers he "loved the dog like a daughter" but a judge blasted him for diminishing his level of responsibility for Shy's suffering.
Judge Brian Cummings, QC, said: “It is an unattractive feature of the case that it is plain from what you said to the probation officer that you diminish your responsibility.
“It does not matter that she was staying with your partner at the time. She was your dog and she was your responsibility.”
Croston and Pickup were sentenced to 12 weeks in jail, suspended for 18 months, and a decade-long ban on them owning animals.
In Croston’s case, there is a minimum of five years before he can apply to have the ban lifted.
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