Jamie Broadbent starved two dogs to death after locking them in bedroom with no food or water

UNITED KINGDOM -- Two dogs starved to death after their owner refused them food and water.
A shocked RSPCA inspector said it was “one of the worst cases” she had ever seen.

Roxy, a German shepherd, and Cassie, a terrier, were found dead in a bedroom.

A court heard their owner, Jamie Broadbent, 29, had lived with the pets as they suffered a “painful and protracted death.”

 

Animal inspectors, alerted by his landlord, had to break down the door of the bedroom because the handles had been removed.

Two bags of food were found alongside the dogs but they had not been fed.

One had been dead at least 10 days and the other more than a week.

Broadbent admitted causing unnecessary suffering by not providing proper and necessary care and supervision, resulting in the death of the dogs last February.

His solicitor, Rebecca Stanton, said: “Something has changed within his life quite significantly to allow this offence to have taken place.”

The case was adjourned until January 8 for a pre-sentence report.

Speaking after the case at Burnley magistrates, Lancs, RSPCA Inspector Charlotte Booker said: “He had moved out and posted the key but we think he must have been living there when the dogs died.

“He was there for possibly a few days or even weeks after they died. He had taken the door handle off the bedroom door which we assumed was to stop kids from going in.

“Both dogs were emaciated and were very dirty. He was saying he couldn’t afford to feed them but two bags of dog food were found.

“He didn’t give either of them any of water which makes it worse as water is free and takes nothing to fill up a bowl of water. The fact that there was food there too makes it all the worse. If you genuinely needed help there is help.

“This is one of the worst cases we’ve seen - the bedroom was appalling there were faeces are urine on the floor because they were locked in that room and didn’t go anywhere else. The puppy was going on about one and the German Shepherd was about two or three years old.

“The post-mortem proved inconclusive because the dogs were maggotted and had been rotting away on the sofa.

“The suffering must have been absolutely immense for the dogs. The vet commented that it would have taken several days - probably even longer for them to die.

“It’s a serious offence which carries a six-month jail term and £20,000 fine. We would hope for a ban to stop him from having any animals in the future.”

Broadbent, from Burnley, was living in nearby Bacup at the time the dogs died.

(Mirror.co.uk - Dec 8, 2014)