A man who left a dog to starve to death in an empty property has admitted his “incredible act of animal cruelty”.
The emaciated body of bull terrier, Duke, was discovered by cleaners who had been called to deal with an abandoned home in Nairn.
The animal was found lying next to a chewed sofa in an unheated room after Brian Farmer left the address.
Farmer, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit two charges under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2006.
The 24-year-old pled guilty to causing an animal unnecessary suffering by failing to provide food and water, causing the dog to become emaciated and starve to death. He also admitted abandoning the animal by leaving it unattended and failing to provide for its care.
Fiscal depute Naomi Duffy-Welsh told the court that the offences took place between September 23 2021 and February 4 2022.
She said that Highland Council had forced entry to the property at 1a Church Street on January 27 after it was abandoned by Farmer.
Cleaners made grisly discovery
The state of the property was such that industrial cleaners were called in, but on February 3 the cleaners discovered the emaciated body of the dog and alerted the SSPCA.
The next day an SSPCA inspector went to the property, which was described as “in a terrible state” with a “strong foul-smelling odour”, and was “shocked to see the emaciated state of the body of the dog”.
“It was obvious that the dog had been dead for some time,” Ms Duffy-Welsh said.
She detailed how the animal, identified as Duke, was found lying next to a chewed-up sofa, with chewed tins around it. There was no heating on and the room was cold.
A post-mortem examination found the dog to be “in very poor body condition” and weighing just 14 kilograms.
“The ribs and bony prominences were easily observed and the head appeared too big for the body,” she said.
“Decomposition suggested the dog had been dead for several weeks”
‘An incredible act of animal cruelty on your part’
Solicitor David Patterson, for Farmer, reserved the majority of his comments in mitigation for the next hearing, but told the court that the dog had not belonged to his client and had been left with him by another.
He said that the offending coincided with a lapse in his client’s mental health.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank asked that the Crown make photographs available to him at the next hearing and deferred sentencing for the production of a criminal justice social work report and restriction of liberty assessment.
He told Farmer, of Church Street, Nairn: “At this stage, it seems to me that this is an incredible act of animal cruelty on your part.”
