David Nicholls, 55, tied the 16-year-old dog, named Nato, in freezing conditions in February this year and when he was discovered by RSPCA officers, the dog was so weak he could barely stand and was covered in weeping sores.
Vets were forced to remove Nato’s eye after an easily treatable infection had gone septic after being ignored.
RSPCA officer Laura Bryant said: ‘Nato would have needed only basic treatment if Nicholls had taken him to the vet but leaving him for so long made his injuries horrific.’
Nicholls of Blurton, of Staffordshire, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and was given the 10-year ban on keeping pets as well as an 18-month community order at Stafford Magistrates Court.
The court heard that Nicholls left Nato in such a poor condition that the dog was forced to drink its own urine and eat its faeces to survive.
Appallingly, Nicholls was convicted last May of mistreating another dog, a Staffordshire Terrier, after he bought it in a pub and left it tied to a park bench.
In sentencing him over Nato’s unnecessary suffering, Chairman Doug Hood said: ‘This matter of causing unnecessary cruelty to the dog is a serious case.
‘Anyone would have realised that the dog needed treatment.
‘This is also compounded by your previous discharge for a similar matter.’
He was also ordered to pay vet costs of £465.
Nato has since been rehomed, Glen Cook, defending, said.
He added: ‘It’s good to hear that the dog has been responding well to treatment.
‘I understand Nato is soon to be celebrating his 17th birthday.’
In 2011 there was a 23.5 per cent rise in the number of people convicted for animal cruelty and neglect according to RSPCA figures.
There was also a 27 per cent rise in prison sentences imposed for animal cruelty by the courts.
The UK’s pet population was estimated to be eight million cats and eight million dogs in 2011.
(DailyMail - Oct 4, 2012)
