North-east man receives £480 fine following Scottish SPCA investigation into dog neglect

A man from Banffshire has been handed a £480 fee and his wife admonished following a Scottish SPCA investigation.

Richard Reynolds (55) and Lesley Reynolds (58) of Grange, pleaded guilty at Elgin Sheriff Court to failing to seek veterinary treatment for their dog, Patch. They were sentenced on Thursday, January 27.

Patch, a 13-year-old black and white Cavalier King Charles spaniel, would have been in a considerable amount of pain and suffering for a number of months. There is no credible reason why this would have not been recognised by the Reynolds.

Patch was seriously neglected over a long period of time, and due to the Reynolds’ failure to seek veterinary care for him, the decision was made to put him to sleep on welfare grounds.

Scottish SPCA inspector Amanda Watson said: “Sadly the difficult decision was made by a vet to put Patch to sleep to end his suffering.

“Patch was unclean, depressed and almost collapsed when we took him to be examined by a vet.

“He had at least six lumps of matted faeces attached to various parts of his body.

“He was in an emaciated body condition and weighed just four and a half kilos. The average weight of a male cavalier King Charles spaniel usually ranges from six to eight kilos.

“On top of this, Patch had a grade three to four pansystolic heart murmur, a considerable amount of tartar covering his molars and pre molars causing his gums to recede, and gave no indication that he had any sight.

"Upon further examination of his eyes his reactions were consistent with having keratitis which would have caused Patch a lot of pain.

“These issues did not appear overnight and poor Patch would have been caused a considerable amount of discomfort and pain over a long period of time.

“A post-mortem of Patch revealed that he had severe chronic dental disease, a severe case of ear mites, mitral valve disease, suspected renal disease and a low body condition score.

“Patch had been severely neglected over a long period of time.

“Although we’re glad that Reynolds has received a fine we would have liked for both him and Lesley Reynolds to have received a ban on keeping animals due to the disregard they showed for Patch’s well-being in this case, which undoubtedly contributed towards his death.

“We hope they seriously reconsider their ability to care for any animal in future.

“If anyone is concerned about an animal, they can contact our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.”