A WOMAN who allowed her dog to starve to below half its normal body weight has been fined and banned from owning an animal again.
Angela Sheehy, of John Sweeney Park, Carlow, was convicted yesterday of cruelty to a red boxer dog which almost starved to death in her back garden.
Brendan Hughes, animal welfare inspector with the ISPCA, told Carlow District Court that the dog was so emaciated "you could touch its spine from pushing up into its belly".
He told Judge William Hamill he had called to Ms Sheehy's house in May 2007 following complaints by members of the public about the condition of the dog. He was unable to make contact with Ms Sheehy and entered the back garden where he found a young boxer dog whose ribs, spine and hips were protruding from starvation. Mr Hughes said the dog weighed 14kg and a dog of its age should have weighed up to 33kg.
He said gardaí had impounded her dog on a separate control issue the previous September and that a fixed €60 fine was paid by the owner for its retrieval. Blood tests carried out on the dog showed there was no other reason for the weight loss other than starvation.
Ms Sheehy did not appear in court yesterday. Judge Hamill ordered that she never be allowed to own an animal again and ordered her to pay a fine of €500 and €221 expenses incurred by the ISPCA.