A farmer convicted of causing a dog unnecessary suffering has been jailed for six months.

Bingley magistrates heard that David Holmes, 44, of Hainsworth Farm, Hen Holme Lane, Silsden, had been convicted of the offence in his absence in June. As a result he was banned from keeping animals for life.

Last November he was jailed for six months and disqualified from keeping animals for life after he was found guilty of cruelty to cattle on his farm and failing to comply with regulations governing the welfare of livestock. At that time he had two previous convictions for causing unnecessary suffering to sheep and was fined on both occasions.

John Eyre, prosecuting for the RSPCA, told the court yesterday that an inspector had gone to Holmes's farm after reports that the black and white Border Collie was being kept in dirty conditions.

He said: "Its straw bed was soaked in urine and covered in faeces. The vet considered the conditions it was being forced to live in were unacceptable and caused it unnecessary suffering. It weighed 13.2kg and he estimated its normal weight would be about 18kg."

John Holden, representing Holmes, said his client intended appealing against conviction, having had no chance previously to put his side of the story.

He said Holmes had not attended the hearing when he was convicted as he was rescuing sheep from flash flooding and had also been told the case would not proceed until an appeal against a previous conviction for cruelty to cattle had been dealt with.

But sentencing Holmes to six months in prison, the chairman of the magistrates, Mrs E A Whitehead, told him: "We think the offence is so serious a prison sentence is the only way of dealing with you because of your previous convictions, lack of remorse and lack of understanding of the seriousness of the offence and of the needs of animals."

Holmes shouted: "I would like to appeal." Magistrates turned down Mr Holden's application for Holmes to be released on bail pending his appeal.

Mr Holden said the dog had not belonged to Holmes and he was not responsible for it.

After the hearing a friend of Holmes, who did not wish to be named, said he would be looking after 100 head of cattle and about 700 sheep for him.

RSPCA inspector Richard Oddy said that after the dog's plight had been highlighted by the T&A last month, the organisation had received about 20 calls from people wanting to give it a home. He said a short-list of around eight people had been drawn up and it was hoped to house the dog, which has been named Gem, in the near future.