A woman who starved her dogs in a locked shed full of faeces has been banned from keeping pets for the rest of her life.
Two dogs were found dead in the “tightly secured” shed with its door and window blocked up, with a “huge pile of moulding faeces” next to them.
ISPCA inspector Fiona Conlon found the dogs on Christmas Eve 2019 at the vacant property in County Carlow, Ireland.
She told Carlow District Court she saw a small rusty coloured terrier running loose, before spotting the locked shed.
She said it took her "several minutes" to remove the locks and tape holding the door closed.
When she got inside she found a larger Doberman cross and a white/fawn terrier.
Inspector Conlon described the dogs as “bony, gaunt and visibly undernourished”.
There were empty containers and no food or water could be seen. She said she saw faeces which gave off a “horrendous stench”.
The one live dog and two dead ones were removed and taken to a local vet.
A post-mortem revealed the two dead dogs were dehydrated and emaciated with no body fat and no signs of food in their stomach before their deaths.
Christine Browne, from Tullow, appeared at Carlow District Court on December 2 where she pleaded guilty to 12 offences under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.
William Maher, who was acting on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine, asked Inspector Conlon how she would rate the seriousness of the offences.
Inspector Conlon said the dogs were left to starve, dying a horrendous death while locked in a shed with no food or water.
During sentencing, Judge Cephas Power said the evidence photos and statement from Inspector Conlon said the suffering the dogs endured was "at the top of the scale".
In addition to the disqualification, Judge Power imposed a five-month custodial sentence, suspended for one year and ordered that Browne pay a total of €1,550 in court and ISPCA costs.
ISPCA Inspector Conlon said: “As Animal Welfare Inspectors, we find dogs that are thin, injured or in need of veterinary care. You remove the animals from their bad situations, get them the attention they need and they have hope, hope for a better life.
“In this case, there was no hope, the dogs were deceased. These two dogs were barricaded into a shed and deprived of the basic requirements to live, food and water.
“These actions resulted in the poor dogs suffering a slow horrendous death the thoughts of which haunt me to this day.”
