Leeds dog owners given suspended sentence and animal ban after Rottweiler found visibly underweight

Stephen Atterbury, 57, of Sholebroke Street, Leeds, appeared at Kirklees Magistrates Court on January 17 for sentencing, after being found guilty of animal welfare offences at an earlier hearing last year.

Atterbury was ruled to have caused unnecessary suffering to his pet Rottweiler Tyson, who he shared with Emma Richardson - the pair were sentenced to 12 weeks custody suspended for 12 months, disqualified from owning all animals indefinitely, and ordered to carry out 30 rehabilitation activity days. 

The court heard how Tyson was removed from the Leeds property by West Yorkshire Police, after the RSPCA received a report with concerns about the body condition of the dog.

The RSPCA had made numerous visits to the address, and although a dog could be heard inside the property, he could not be seen. Officers left advisory notices - which include advice on steps an owner should take for their animals - but Atterbury and Richardson failed to respond. 

Eventually Tyson was observed by the attending officer, who was extremely concerned about Tyson’s poor bodily condition.

The officer described in their witness statement that Tyson was “obviously underweight and they could see his ribs, spine, hips and his stomach was sunken. His back legs looked to be lacking in muscle and the top of his head was sunken on either side so appeared pointy”.

Atterbury and Richardson claimed that Tyson was eating and toileting normally and the owners did now show any concern about their dog's condition - and turned down the RSPCA’s offer to take the dog to a vet for an assessment. The pair were issued with a welfare notice, stating that Tyson would need to be seen by a vet.

An RSPCA inspector returned to the property on May 1, 2021 with the assistance of West Yorkshire Police, and said in a witness statement that she found that “Tyson was very thin, his ribs, spine and hip bones were prominent even through his thick fur, his face was gaunt and his head was sunken in over his eye sockets.

"He had dried faeces all over his back end, he smelt terrible, when I stroked his body I was shocked at just how thin he felt.”

Tyson had not been taken to a vet by his owners and was subsequently removed by West Yorkshire Police and placed into the care of the RSPCA.

The veterinary surgeon stated: “In my professional opinion (Tyson) had been suffering due to a lack of veterinary treatment or investigation into the degree of emaciation present. This could have been easily avoided in my opinion by the owner seeking veterinary attention or feeding the dog appropriately.”

Atterbury and Richardson failed to attend court hearings and warrants were issued for their arrest. After nearly a year in RSPCA care, Tyson made a full recovery and has since been rehomed to a loving family.