Owner banned and fined after dog neglected

Barry Curtis was also sentenced to a 12-month community order with supervision and ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work.

He will also have to pay £200 court costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing was sentenced at Birmingham Magistrates Court.

Birmingham City Council brought the case after receiving a complaint that a dog spotted in the back garden of a property on Fernbank Road in Alum Rock, was severely emaciated, with its ribs, hips and spine clearly visible. Two dog wardens visited the property on October 1 last year. They found a five-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier cross called Junior, who was extremely emaciated.

He was removed on welfare grounds and taken to a vet, who confirmed Junior was significantly underweight.

Curtis, aged 31 and of no fixed address, was interviewed on November 18 and denied he had failed to provide a suitable diet for the dog.

He claimed Junior refused to eat the food he provided. Curtis agreed to sign Junior over to a foster home, where he put on more than 7kg in a fortnight and was rehomed weighing 25.25kg. The number of animal welfare cases reported to the city council has increased by 25 per cent during the past three years, from 372 cases in 2011/12 to 467 reported in 2013/14.

Councillor Barbara Dring, chairwoman of the city council's Licensing and Public Protection Committee, said: "This case highlights how important it is for people to look after their pets and that they owe them a duty of care.

"While most pet-owners love their animals and take good care of them, ensuring they are well-fed and maintained, some owners do not fully understand their responsibility, and unfortunately our dog wardens are seeing more of these kinds of cases.

"Junior has now been rehomed and is flourishing, but not every pet is as lucky if they are neglected."