A north-east man is battling to keep hold of his pets – despite neglecting a pack of dogs by keeping them in squalid conditions.
David Munro’s 11 dogs were forced to live in his home in Nigg surrounded by faeces and urine.
Between August and October last year he regularly failed to let them out for exercise, did not provide them with a comfortable place to sleep and left them exposed to ammonia, causing his pets eye irritations.
But despite admitting a catalogue of failings against the dogs Munro’s solicitor is fighting to allow him to keep two of the affected animals.
Yesterday the 37-year-old appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to be sentenced for one of three animal neglect charges against him.
Munro had previously admitted allowing his animals to live in unacceptable conditions over a two month period.
He was also accused of causing two of the pets unnecessary suffering by failing to get treatment for their skin conditions, but his not guilty pleas were accepted by the Crown.
Yesterday fiscal depute, Jennifer Pritchard, asked for Sheriff Margaret Hodge to consider imposing a depravation order on Munro, which would ban him from keeping the animals.
But his solicitor, John Hardie, said his client was keen to keep two of the animals he had neglected. He said: “Out of the 11 dogs involved a total of six have been transferred to the SSPCA.
“Mr Munro wants one of the dogs to be transferred to his daughter but is happy for another two to be transferred to the SSPCA.
“He wants to keep hold of Sasha and Murphy, they are the only two dogs who are now an issue.”
Mr Hardie added that his client had also suffered from mental health issues and had been living with the dogs in amongst the squalid conditions for the same period of time.
He said: “There was no separate place in the house for him.”
Sheriff Hodge was given a written narrative detailing the circumstances of the case, which was not read aloud in court.
She deferred sentence on Munro, of Cadorna, Charleston, Nigg, for background reports to be carried out into his character.
The sheriff also called for a hearing to be held over the depravation order.
He will return to court next month.
