NEATH: Judges reject dog owner’s claim he didn’t need a ten-year ban after Pandora starved while carrying puppies

Warning: this article contains details of animal suffering that some readers may find distressing.

The Neath man whose dog was so starved that vets could not see she was carrying puppies has lost his attempt to overturn his ban from keeping animals.

Matthew Mark Andrews, 31, of Henry Street, argued at Swansea Crown Court that there was no need for the ten-year disqualification handed to him in July. The court disagreed.

Dismissing the appeal on 18 September, it said: “This was gross and long-standing neglect. The defendant should not have any animals for a significant period. We are concerned about a high probability of neglect in the future.”

The court ordered him to pay a further £750 in costs, the RSPCA said, on top of the £400 magistrates ordered in July.

What the magistrates heard

Andrews pleaded guilty in July to failing to meet the needs of his dog Pandora under the Animal Welfare Act. Swansea magistrates gave him 12 weeks in custody suspended for 12 months, 20 rehabilitation activity days and the ten-year ban.

The court heard he rang the PDSA on 21 November last year to say Pandora had not eaten for four or five days and had lost weight. She weighed 18.4kg; in August 2023 she had weighed 25kg.

Her spine, ribs and hips were easily visible, the vet told the court, and her emaciation was so severe “that it was impossible to tell that the dog was close to full-term pregnancy”. A scan, carried out because the vet suspected a womb infection, showed seven to nine puppies.

Her skin showed a chronic yeast infection. Emergency surgery removed a twisted section of her small intestine, but when a further blockage developed vets concluded she would not survive another major operation and she was put to sleep. The puppies died with her.

The vet’s view, the court heard, was that treatment should have been sought much earlier.

The ban runs to 2036

The appeal challenged only the disqualification, which now stands until summer 2036. The suspended sentence and the rehabilitation days were not contested.

After the July hearing, RSPCA Deputy Chief Inspector Gemma Cooper called it “a very sad case with a tragic ending for Pandora and her puppies”, and said anyone struggling to care for an animal “should seek help”.

It was one of two lengthy bans handed to owners here in July, after a Swansea man was banned for 15 years when his Jack Russells were left dangerously obese.

Author

Alastair Isaac

Reporter for Swansea Bay News