A MAN and woman who failed to seek veterinary treatment for their dog have been banned from keeping animals for five years.

Jade Taylor, 27, and Boop Drake, 32, both of Brooklyn Terrace, in Brighouse, pleaded guilty to one charge each of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and appeared at Kirklees Magistrates' Court last Tuesday for sentencing.

The charges concerned a 10-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier named Misha.

They failed to provide vet treatment for Misha’s flea infestation which caused an allergic skin reaction.

RSPCA inspector Adam Dickinson went to the couple’s property on September 17 last year to investigate a report of a welfare concern.

He found Misha suffering from a serious skin condition, which included skin reddening and open scratch wounds.

The inspector said in a statement presented to the court: “Misha had a lot of missing fur and her skin was tough and wrinkly. It looked quite pink with numerous areas showing fresh blood. She was running around in the yard, frequently scratching her skin.”

Misha was taken to the RSPCA Greater Manchester Animal Hospital where she underwent antibiotic and steroid treatment.

A vet at the hospital said that she was extremely itchy, which led to “self-trauma from her chewing and scratching at her skin” which had had an ‘elephant skin’ appearance.

After signs of showing an improvement in her condition, Misha developed a gastro-intestinal bleed, which is a potential side effect of steroid treatment.

Despite the withdrawal of the treatment and treatment with gastroprotectants, her condition worsened and sadly it was decided that the best course of action to end her suffering was to put her to sleep.

The court heard that the defendants had not taken the dog to see a vet since 2019. 

The vet said: “It should have been clearly evident to the owner that Misha required veterinary assessment and care.

"She was frequently scratching and chewing at herself which again would be easily noticeable. 

“Skin issues were flagged up by the owners’ veterinary surgeon in 2015 and 2019, but the dog was not presented to a vets again after this date.

"A reasonable owner would have sought veterinary care on seeing their pet with these symptoms.”

In mitigation, the court heard that Drake was receiving therapy for mental health issues, while Taylor needed to support her sister, who was a full-time carer for her mother.

The couple received 12-month community orders alongside their disqualifications.

This included completing up to 10 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and paying a victim surcharge of £114 and court costs of £400 each.