RSPCA: Suspended sentence for allowing dog to die
A Tottenham man has been given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for 24 months, after he admitted causing unnecessary suffering to his dog at Haringey Magistrates’ Court.
Desmond Kwaku Asuo (02/10/79), of Trulock Road, Tottenham, was also banned from keeping any animal for 10 years, ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work and was ordered to pay £520 towards costs.
Asuo previously pleaded guilty to causing his tan-and-white bull terrier to suffer by tethering her to a door handle in May 2011 in a manner which led to her death. He also admitted failing to provide fresh drinking water for the dog which died at his flat.
The court heard that the dog was discovered hanging from the door handle several hours after Asuo was arrested on unrelated charges. She was found to have died from asphyxiation by strangulation. There were scratch and bite marks and blood on the door where the dog had desperately tried to struggle free. It is thought that she would have taken between 2 and 3½ hours to die.
The defendant claimed that he did not tether his dog to the door handle, instead insisting that someone must have broken in and tied the dog up in his absence.
RSPCA inspector Virginia Ross said: “This is a horrific and tragic incident in which a dog was left to die a slow and desperately painful death. I cannot imagine the suffering and distress that she went through.
“No animal deserves this fate and we can only hope that the strong sentence will serve as a message to those who believe they can just get away with treating their pets in any way they choose.”
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