Wakefield woman who left dog to die alone in its own faeces and urine escapes jail

Jade Louise Devey, 23, now of Lindsay Avenue, Lupset, was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months at Hull Magistrates Court, plus 100 hours of unpaid work and pay costs totalling £904.

Devey pleaded guilty to two offences of causing unnecessary suffering to the 12-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier dog named ‘Dray Dray.’ His body was found in an emaciated state inside a property she had previously rented in Bridlington, North Yorkshire, but had vacated.

RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) Dan Richardson first attended the property in Bronte Walk, Bridlington, in January 2024, after the charity received calls with concerns for an abandoned dog inside the house. After hearing a dog barking from inside, he sealed the front door to the property with tape and returned two days later to check if the property had been entered and the dog had been attended to during that time.

There he was met by Jade Devey who had been away from the home but confirmed 11-year-old Dray Dray was in good condition. Two months later in March 2024, the landlord of the property entered the flat after receiving no correspondence or rent for three months, and discovered Dray Dray’s lifeless body inside the property.

In his witness statement, ARO Richardson said: “There were several piles of faeces on the floor and a large dried up puddle of urine. The kitchen also had several piles of faeces and another dried, crystalized puddle of urine and there were two dog bowls which were both empty.

“At the back of the kitchen near the cupboards, was a deceased light brown Staffordshire bull terrier type dog. I believe this was the same dog I saw when I previously visited the address, Dray Dray. He was severely emaciated, he had defecated where he was laying. His eyes were sunken into his head and I could tell that he had been dead for some time.”

Following the discovery, Dray Dray’s body was seized by the police and sent for post mortem.

In their witness statement the vet described the findings during the post mortem: “Dray Dray was seen to be in good body condition, alive, and happy on 17 January 2024, and was found deceased, in poor body condition on 22 March 2024 with a gap of nine weeks and two days between these, or a total of 65 days.

“The dog is likely to have died from dehydration. It is my opinion that Dray Dray suffered both greatly, and unnecessarily, for a period of at least three weeks, although it may be longer via a combination of starvation and dehydration.”

The vet said that suffering was “unnecessary” and outside “the normal expected standard of animal care”, adding that “the owner would have known this”.

They noted: “Death via dehydration, whilst also experiencing profound starvation, would have been an extremely distressing way for the dog to die. The pressure sores lead me to believe that in the days leading up to the death, the dog was too weak to move around sufficiently in order to prevent those sores, thus causing additional pain. Jade Davey was ultimately responsible for the care of the dog and by not following up to ensure the dog was getting appropriate care the dog ultimately lost its life.”

At the sentencing hearing on 16 January , the District Judges’ remarks included: “This is a very serious case. It was incumbent upon you to look after this dog and you failed comprehensively to do so. We are satisfied that this case clearly crosses the custody threshold.

“We feel this case justified a six month custodial sentence. We have given very careful consideration to whether that sentence should be immediate or suspended. On balance we have noted that this was your first offence and we believe your age and lack of maturity are factors which can be addressed in the community.”

RSPCA Inspector Laura Barber, who investigated the case, said: “It was incredibly upsetting that Dray Dray, the dog we had seen just nine weeks earlier in good condition, had starved inside that same flat. To think that Devey ignored advice from ARO Richardson and left him is heartbreaking.”

In mitigation, Devey simply stated that she was now in full-time employment. She maintained that she had been let down by a friend and that she was experiencing significant discomfort as a result of an ongoing hip injury.

Alongside her suspended prison sentence, the 23-year-old was also disqualified from owning all animals for life.