Animal ban for woman who caused suffering to cockerpoo

A woman from Horncastle has been disqualified from keeping animals for five years after allowing a cockerpoo called Ned to suffer.

Vicki Ann Ball of Mark Avenue appeared before Lincoln Magistrates’ Court last week (11 March) for sentencing.

At a previous hearing the 37-year-old pleaded guilty to one offence of causing unnecessary suffering to Ned under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

RSPCA inspector Kate Burris said:

In interview, Ball denied that Ned belonged to her. She said she had owned him from 2013 but had given him away in January, February or March last year ‘free to a good home’ on Facebook. She couldn’t provide any evidence of this.

She said she came home on the 24 June to find him on her lawn in a mess, and after trying to wash him and cut out the matts, realised she couldn’t help him and took him to a dog rescue.

When the inspector visited the defendant's address she observed a run at the side of the house that was being dismantled and had dog faeces in it. A witness gave evidence that they had seen her with the dog recently and the dog was microchipped to her.

As well as the disqualification, Ball was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay a £500 fine and £85 victim surcharge.

In mitigation, the court heard that she had pleaded guilty, had no previous convictions, and found the dog difficult to look after due to family commitments and the dog’s behaviour.

Inspector Burris said: