Katy Gammon abandoned five-year-old boxer Roxy while she stayed with her mother, leaving the dog to spend six days clawing at the door until it went blind, slipped into a coma and died.
When the 27-year-old returned a week later the stench through her letterbox was so strong she could not face going inside - so returned to her mother for another nine weeks.
Roxy was only discovered when a neighbour saw a swarm of flies at the kitchen window, and was so decomposed an RSPCA inspector had to scrape her body off the floor with a shovel.
The animal welfare charity, which prosecuted Gammon, described the case as one of the worst it has ever dealt with.
Gammon, who was a trainee solicitor with the Bristol legal firm Lyons Davidson, is facing jail after she admitted two animal cruelty charges today at Bristol Magistrates' Court. A Lyons Davidson spokesman said she no longer works for the firm.
Magistrates heard Gammon had started staying with her mother's home nearby and initially began returning to feed Roxy.
When she dislocated her knee, she was unable to get to the house and claimed her ex-boyfriend was feeding the animal.
But that was a lie, the court heard. Gammon did not check on the dog for a week and had tied a rope to the handle of the kitchen door, fixing the other end to a hook in her hallway so it could not be opened.
Left without food and water Roxy clawed frantically at the door, leaving fragments on the floor, as she tried in vain to escape.
A vet said Roxy would have taken up to six days to die in horrific conditions and in severe pain, first becoming blind and falling into a coma before finally passing away.
Finally, on November 3 last year, a neighbor alerted police after seeing swarms of flies through the kitchen window.
Police arrived and were greeted by a strong smell of decomposition and the kitchen still closed with the rope.
They called the RSPCA and the remains of Roxy were removed for a post mortem.
Horrified RSPCA inspector Chris James had to remove the dog's body with a shovel.
He said a stream of maggots had crawled from the kitchen down the hallway - to where there were tins of dog food on a table.
Gammon was interviewed and admitted leaving Roxy for a week before going back to check on her, when she found a stench coming from her home.
She told RSPCA Inspector Miranda Albinson she had looked through the letterbox and been greeted by a smell so awful she couldn't bear to go into the house.
Gammon said: 'I assumed she was dead - I never went back.'
Insp Albinson asked her: 'You deliberately locked her in the kitchen and left her for a week to die, that correct?'
Gammon replied: 'Yes, basically.'
When shown photographs of the scene Gammon added: 'I don't know what you want me to say.'
Gammon pleaded guilty to one count of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, and another of failing to prevent causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
The two offences each carry a maximum sentence of six months in prison and possible fines of £20,000.
Joanna Lyons, defending, said Gammon now had 'genuine remorse' for the suffering she had caused and was 'absolutely mortified'.
She said Gammon appeared to have 'some psychiatric issues' and asked for sentencing to be adjourned for the preparing of a report.
Gammon was freed on unconditional bail to be sentenced at the same court on April 9.
Chairman of the Bench Patricia Lee told her: 'This is a very serious offence - so serious that there's no way we can sentence today. We need a full report about you and your circumstances and everything about you.'
Gammon, who had hobbled into court on crutches wearing a grey trouser suit and white shirt, did not comment outside court.
Insp Albinson said after the case: 'This is one of the worst cases we have ever come across. The police who attended the scene were genuinely upset by it and they investigate murders. She showed no remorse whatsoever in interview. It is difficult to understand.'
Today a spokesman for Lyons Davidson law firm yesterday said Gammon no longer worked for the company but would not say when she left.
Her entry on the company's website yesterday described her as a paralegal with a law degree and said she had completed a legal practice course.
It added: 'She runs a wide-ranging caseload investigating claims concerning failed surgery, delays in diagnosis. dental claims and infection cases.'
(Daily Mail - Mar 19, 2014)
Here we have a fat woman who works to prosecute negligence cases. Who starved her dog to death by neglect. You can't make this stuff up!
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