Judge 'unable to look' at pictures of flat where woman let four dogs starve to death

A woman has been banned from keeping animals for 20 years after she left four dogs to starve to death inside a faeces-covered flat.

Jamie Leigh Blackburn, 21, was the owner of four dogs - three XL bully-type dogs called Mercy, Charlie and Casanova and a French bulldog called Yoda - which she kept in squalid conditions inside her Knowsley Heights' flat in Huyton. After receiving a safety concern report for Blackburn, Merseyside Police officers attended her home on October 30 last year.

Blackburn was not at home but due to their concerns for her welfare police officers gained entry into the flat. RSPCA prosecutor Peter Mitchell told Liverpool Magistrates' Court today, Thursday, May 9 that "the flat was in a shocking state, contaminated with faeces". He added: "There was a collapsed dog and three dead dogs."

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The collapsed dog was taken to a vet but soon died due to the severe emaciated state it was in. When the defendant was eventually contacted, she said she had sold the dogs and was currently in hospital. However, police officers checked with the hospital who confirmed she was not currently booked in.

The RSPCA was called and an inspector attended the property who corroborated the unhygienic environment the dogs had been found in. Mr Mitchell said: "The defendant had not provided food, water or proper bedding, and two of the dogs were locked in their crates." Mr Mitchell also tried to show pictures of the flat to the court, but District Judge James Hatton told him: "They are not something I would like to see again."

When interviewed by the police, Blackburn said the "exotic bully" Mercy and the bully-type dog Charlie had belonged to her partner who was in prison. She added Casanova belonged to her, and she had brought French bulldog Yoda three or four months before.

Blackburn also told police Casanova had died two weeks before police had attended her home, and she was too upset to return to the address, which the court heard she shared with her cousin. Mr Mitchell said: "She accepted the property was not fit for the dogs, she couldn't feed them properly and two of the dogs had no bedding because they would defecate on them."

Post-mortem examinations on all the dogs revealed they had empty stomachs and had gone without food and water for a considerable amount of time. Mr Mitchell said: "The dogs suffered physical and mental duress for many days, if not weeks."

In mitigation, Colin Rawson, defending, told the court it was "a tragic case that saw four dogs sadly deceased". He said Blackburn, "to her credit", had offered a "full and frank admission" to the police and to the court when she first appeared. He added: "She has cooperated in full."

Mr Rawson added Blackburn "was a young lady with many personal difficulties" and reminded the court "the police attended the flat because there were severe concerns for her welfare". He said his client had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and was supported in court by a manager at a service she was currently engaging with.

Mr Rawson accepted Judge Hatton's ruling that the case "undoubtedly crossed the threshold into an immediate prison term", but asked the court to suspend her sentence due to her guilty pleas, lack of previous convictions and personal difficulties.

Sentencing, Judge Hatton said: "This was a particularly unpleasant case to deal with - we are not just dealing with the death of one dog, but four, and it was a lengthy period of neglect that led to their deaths." Addressing Blackburn, he added: "You should not have been able to look after animals, because with respect, you are barely able to look after yourself."

The judge said Blackburn had a number of significant issues impacting on her, including "acute mental health and a clear pattern of abusive relationships which continue even as we speak".

Judge Hatton sentenced Blackburn, now of no fixed abode, to two consecutive terms of six months imprisonment, totally a year in prison, but suspended the sentence for 24 months. The judge also told her she would have to complete 30 rehabilitation days and enforced a 20 year ban on Blackburn keeping animals.

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