A Swansea man has been banned from keeping animals for 15 years after two Jack Russell terriers in his care were allowed to become dangerously obese — with one so ill it had to be put to sleep.
William Johns, 68, of Lime Court, Swansea, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and was sentenced at Swansea Magistrates’ Court.
He was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, alongside the 15-year disqualification.
An RSPCA animal rescue officer, Ethan Griffin, visited the property on 24 September last year and found the male terrier, Cai, collapsed and stained with urine. Johns agreed to let the officer take him to a vet.
A vet found Cai in the end stage of heart failure, with a body condition score of nine out of nine — where five is a healthy weight. The decision was taken to put him to sleep.
On a follow-up visit Johns was advised to have the second dog, Lily, weighed and put on a diet. He refused to cooperate.
RSPCA Inspector Gemma Cooper returned on 14 December with officers from South Wales Police, and Lily was seized.
In a statement to the court, the inspector said she had been shocked by the dog’s size.
“When I went to take her from the police officer it was difficult to hold her like a normal dog as her torso was just so rounded and solid,” she said. “In my fifteen years as an RSPCA Inspector I have never seen a dog so overweight.”
Lily also scored nine out of nine. The vet who examined her said she was out of breath for most of the time she was at the clinic, and weighed 14.2kg.
“The level of obesity was one of the worst I have seen,” he said, adding that she had difficulty moving and had suffered “for a prolonged period of at least a month if not longer”.
In mitigation, the court heard Johns had been unable to care for the dogs because of a range of health problems, including Parkinson’s disease and reduced mobility after having a leg amputated.
He later agreed to sign Lily over into the charity’s care.
Lily was put on a suitable diet and lost more than 2kg in her first month with the RSPCA. She has made a good recovery and will now be rehomed.
Speaking after the sentencing, Inspector Cooper said the dogs had been “allowed to balloon in weight by the defendant’s inability to provide a balanced diet for them”.
“One of them became so ill that he had to be put to sleep,” she said, “and had we not returned to the property, the second dog may also have become seriously unwell.”
Johns was ordered to pay £400 in court costs and a £187 victim surcharge at the hearing on 22 June.
The charges stated that between 16 and 25 September last year he caused unnecessary suffering to Cai by failing to address the dog’s collapsed and failing condition, and that between 24 September and 14 December he caused unnecessary suffering to Lily by failing to address her overweight condition.
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