Chesterfield man's starving 'walking skeleton' dog was 'one day from death'

The dog was described by a vet as a 'walking skeleton'.

James Drury, 25, of Coniston Way, Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to his dog.

His poor pet was so emaciated with every bone visible when he was rescued by the RSPCA.

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James Drury has been banned from keeping animals after his pet was left in this state.

The RSPCA was called to the property by police who had attended for an unrelated matter but were concerned for the wellbeing of a dog living in the house .

Inspector Dave McAdam was sent to the scene and on first entering the property he was confronted with the smell of faeces and urine coming from the kitchen floor which was covered in rubbish.

In the bedroom of the property he found a Staffordshire bull terrier-type dog, called Dibbley, in a severely emaciated state.

Every major bone could be seen in his body.

He said: “This was amongst the most emaciated dogs I have ever seen that was still alive.

"The dog was so weak he had trouble walking due to the loss of muscle mass, with experience of nearly thirty years as an RSPCA inspector I knew this dog was close to death.

“There was again a large amount of faeces on the bedroom floor where the dog was being kept. Within the bedroom I did see a small amount of water in a steel bowl provided for the dog, but no food.”

Inspector McAdam had to carry the dog, aged about nine, from the property and took him to a vet for treatment.

In a witness statement the vet who assessed Dibbley described him as “a walking skeleton”.

He said: “Every major bone in this dog’s body was clearly prominent and evident, he was literally a walking skeleton. This was amongst the worst cases of emaciation I have ever seen, this dog was no more than a day or so away from death. “

At the time of his rescue Dibbley weighed 8.9kgs but was put on a specialist diet and within six weeks he weighed 20.35 kgs.

As well as the 10-year ban on keeping all animals, Drury was given an 18-month community order and was placed on a “thinking skills” programme for a period of 19 days, along with a 12-day rehabilitation requirement.

He was fined £200, ordered to pay £400 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.

In mitigation the court was told that Drury was suffering from stress at the time and financial hardship.

Dibbley is currently in RSPCA care and he will be re-homed soon.