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Crawley man jailed after dog died in freezer

14-12-2009 This Is Crawley, UK


A PET owner whose starving dog died after chewing its way into a freezer has been jailed. Darren Winnington, from Broadfield, left his dog unfed for around two months, during which time it ate food packaging and pieces of foam and plastic.

At Crawley Magistrates' Court, prosecutor David Buck said police and RSPCA officers found Winnington's Richardson Court home in appalling condition.

He said: "There was a very strong smell and a large quantity of faeces on the landing and also in the bedroom.
"In the bottom of a chest freezer there was the carcass of a white and brown Staffordshire Bull Terrier. It was decomposing and full of maggots.
"The freezer was turned off and a large area of the lid had been chewed by the dog."

A vet said the dog had been dead for around a week and was in an "advanced state of decomposition".

Mr Buck added: "Its body condition was poor, suggesting it had been denied adequate nutrition for some time before death.
"It died from dehydration and starvation."

The court heard Winnington, 32, saw the dog two weeks before it was found dead, but did not give it food or water.

Keith Goacher, mitigating, said his client's life has fallen apart in the last year.
Speaking at last Friday's hearing, he said: "In January this year his wife and two children went away, he thought for a short holiday, and he hasn't seen them since.
"He discovered his wife had been in a relationship with someone else for in excess of 18 months.
"He has tried to find his children but he has no idea where they are and that causes him a great deal of distress.
"A month after his wife left he was made redundant. Quite simply, his world collapsed."
Mr Goacher added: "He accepts the care and welfare of that dog was down to him and he is very upset about what has happened.
"This wasn't willful neglect. His own despair just ran out of control."

But magistrates rejected the plea for leniency and sentenced Winnington, who admitted on December 4 causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, to 17 weeks in prison.
He was also banned from owning animals for 15 years.

RSPCA officer Rebecca Carter, who discovered the dog, welcomed the court's decision.
She said: "I started this job in 2005 and this is certainly the worst case of deliberate and prolonged cruelty I have seen.
"I feel for Mr Winnington's personal circumstances but I think a lot of us go through problems and at the end of the day he still managed to feed himself.
"If you have an animal it relies on you solely."

(Bron: http://www.thisissussex.co.uk/crawley)