Please retweet CONVICTED | AVOIDED JAIL-Sophie Singer, 41, and Keith Byrne, 38, from #Eastbourne, East #Sussex#UK - left their 14-year-old boxer dog to die while they swanned off on holiday to Center Parcs.
The heartless couple refused to accept their elderly pet, known as Bentley, was suffering before they abandoned him at home in January 2022.
One of their neighbours raised the alarm in their absence, after entering the home through a broken front door to find Bentley at the foot of the stairs the day after they left.
His breathing was ‘rapid and shallow’, and the neighbour thought he was dying.
Bentley was ‘barely alive’ when an RSPCA inspector entered their home through an unlocked door the next day.
He was covered in scabs and weighed just 12.5kg – less than half the weight of an average boxer.
He had been so hungry, he turned to eating food wrappers and a felt pen found in his stomach. His claws were so overgrown they'd become talons.
Bentley was in such a poor state, police told the RSPCA inspector to remove him despite not legally being allowed to.
Judge Christine Laing KC, who said she has never owned a dog, said: ‘I find this case really extraordinary.
‘Even as a non dog owner, I would have seen instantly that this dog was in a terrible state.’
She added: ‘He would not have been able to move without being in agony.
‘The ribs showing through his skin you could not have failed to miss.
‘He had scabs and inflammation on his skin you could not have failed to miss.’
He had prominent ribs, hips and spine. His eyes were sunken and his claws were curling over.
The RSPCA did their best to save him, but Bentley died overnight after months of neglect.
When contacted by the RSPCA through information found on Bentley’s chip, long distance lorry driver Byrne told them Bentley had not seen a vet for a year.
Singer said they put his condition down to old age and tiredness, claiming she believed he wouldn’t have come home if they had taken him to a vet.
The pair tried convincing the court they had left Bentley – their pet of seven years – in the care of a family friend, but the judge rejected this claim.
Judge Laing said: ‘You insist on continuing to persist with this bizarre story.
‘The dog had clearly been suffering for a very substantial period of time and you decided to swan off on holiday.
‘I’m not even convinced you had somebody to look after it or that this person even existed.
‘The animal was clearly starving. There was no food in its stomach.
‘It really is appalling behaviour. I am at a loss.
‘Both of you talk about it as if it was a beloved family pet.
‘What an example you are showing to your children about what love is.’
Singer and Byrne were convicted in their absence of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and failing to ensure his welfare.
Criticising their avoidance of court, the judge said: ‘There is no mitigation to be found.
‘I’m quite satisfied you have gone to considerable efforts to avoid the whole court process.’
The judge told them they would likely have had to serve time behind bars if they were not the parents of seven children.
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#SophieSinger #KeithByrne #dogs #AnimalAbusers #Animalcruelty #pets #animals
Thinking of attending a Boxing Day hunt meet? This is what ‘trail hunts’ get up to. Shocking footage released today by @HuntSabs
Please RT if it’s just one thing you do today. Get these faces everywhere.
I tend to go silent when something doesn’t make me feel good, upsets me or hurts me. When someone else notices the shift in my energy, they tend to ask what’s happening. Choosing silence at first isn’t a form of avoidance. Some of us need to process our emotions first
i remember reading somewhere that the high note was planned just between toby and the director, because he’d overheard toby singing mariah carey, but they didn’t tell anyone else so this was everybody’s genuine reaction to hearing that high note for the first time
Absolute fucking scumbags the coppers who shot those poor dogs.
Like anything in life there’s always going to be good and bad but some coppers think they can get away with anything.
So many ways that situation could have been handled. Thankfully it was filmed or this would been swept under the carpet.
Nobody went to hospital, 2 dogs were shot in the street, & residents screamed at them to stop saying ‘this isn’t America’.
What you need to grasp is many Met officers are fantasists. They want to be in a scene in CSI, not doing the basics of their job. https://t.co/uL9pHtHcYy
i believe those who are capable of change are those who have found their reason to change. their reason acts as a motivation that pushes them to make a consistent conscientious effort to do better. their reason has become more valuable to them than their way of life before.
REMINDER: February is going to be an amazing month bringing healing energy, blessings, clarity, happiness, an abundance of love, light, good health, and good vibes 🪬🪬🪬🪬🪬🪬🪬🪬🪬🪬🪬🪬🪬🪬