Terrifyingly thin dog put to sleep after neglect leaves its ribs showing

A Walthamstow man left his dog so skinny that she had to be put down. Carl Playfair, of Blythe Road, was given a suspended prison sentence and banned from having dogs for 10 years after condemning his Staffie, called Princess, to a room riddled with urine and faeces.

He must also complete a six-month alcohol treatment programme. RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) Nicola Thomas, along with police and fire officers, went to Playfair’s home on December 11 last year.

Princess was seized by police and taken to a vet, but she was so ill that she was put to sleep to end her suffering. A vet report heard by the court claimed the dog was suffering from dehydration and weighed only 10.45kg.

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Her ribs, pelvic bones and spine were all visible from a distance and she scored the lowest score possible (one out of nine) on a body condition rating. The vet concluded that Princess’ emaciation and dehydration were the result of liver disease and it was also possible that a lack of food and water had contributed to her losing weight.

In mitigation, the court heard that the defendant was suffering from alcoholism and mental health problems.

“I would estimate that it would take at least three weeks to reach this level of emaciation if the dog had previously been a normal weight,” said the vet. “She would have been suffering for at least three weeks and, possibly, much longer.

“Her condition was obvious and would be readily apparent to a lay person and could have been avoided or at least reduced by seeking veterinary advice as soon as she started to lose weight or show other signs of illness.”

ARO Thomas said in a statement presented to the court: “I could see every bone in the dog's hips, spine and legs and the sides of her head were sunken in. Her eyes appeared to be cloudy looking and she was weak and having difficulty standing.

“At one point she did stand up, but it was for a very short period of time and she was wobbling on her legs. In the room she was in there was urine and faeces on the floor, along with empty food wrappings and some empty dog food tins that had what appeared to be teeth marks in the metal.”

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