Usma Hassan’s vehicle was covered in blood when it was spotted by police officers on patrol in a lane lay-by alerting them to force their way into it
Rural Crime Team police in Cheshire found a car covered in blood in a lay0by in Pool Lane in Elton and after forcing their way in found a poorly German Shepherd dog in squalid conditions (Image: Google)
A dog owner from Birmingham has been banned from having animals after police found his car was covered in blood.
Officers from the Rural Crime Team were on patrol in the Pool Lane area of Elton in Cheshire on Friday, February 21 this year. when they spotted a car parked in a layby with its rear bumper ‘covered in blood’.
The vehicle had heavily tinted windows and the police could not see inside it.
Due to concern for those that could be inside the vehicle the officers forced their way in via the boot.
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They found a female German Shepherd sitting inside a metal cage.
The police officers were ‘alarmed’ to see that some bars of the cage were also stained with blood and the floor was covered in dog faeces.
Whilst they comforted the distressed dog, Usma Hassan of Eastfield Road in Bordesley Green, who had been asleep in the back of the vehicle, sat up and got the dog out of the vehicle so officers could inspect her closely.
The Alsatian dog had a large wound an they told Hassan to come with them to take her to a nearby vet as soon as possible.
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The 22-year-old then said he was a ‘security dog handler’ and ‘had experience working with animals’.
At the vets the dog was found to have a large immovable mass, with the consultant believing it had been ‘present for a considerable amount of time and had been left untreated’. The dog was put to sleep.
Hassan was arrested on suspicion of animal welfare offences and in custody claimed he had no idea where the growth had come from.
He said he believed it had ‘appeared suddenly’ and perhaps the vet had ‘made a mistake’ in their diagnosis.
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Hassan then claimed that the RSPCA had visited his address in Birmingham ‘within the last two weeks’ and had said the dog was fine – which was a lie.
The RSPCA had attended Hassan’s address but following concerns from a neighbour relating to three dogs at the property.
An improvement notice was served to an occupant present at the time, but the German Shepherd had not been there during their inspection, and no verdict on her personal welfare had been determined.
Eventually Hassan admitted that he had had the dog in his care for around two months.
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But, in her 10 years of life, she had never been to see a vet before that day.
Officers also uncovered that Hassan had no experience in dog handling or security but was keen to look for work in that field.
He was later charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and pleaded guilty to the offence in June.
He appeared at Chester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, July 2, and pleaded guilty to causing the unnecessary suffering of a protected animal, namely a dog.
He was handed a six-year animal ban under Section 34 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and a 20-week custodial sentence that was suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay more than £230 in surcharge fees.
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Police Constable Williams, of the Cheshire Police’s Rural Crime Team, said: “Animals trust us as their owners, being a pet owner comes with a suitable degree of responsibility to ensure they are appropriately looked after, fed, watered and cared for and provided with treatment when unwell.
“Despite claiming to have a considerable interest and passion in dogs, Hassan chose to do nothing about what was a very serious, and noticeable, medical issue that his pet was clearly suffering from a great deal of pain.
“Whilst we have not been able to turn back the clock to prevent the suffering this animal went through, Hassan’s ban prevents him from owning a pet for six years under the Animal Welfare Act and will hopefully prevent any further animals being treated in such an appalling manner.”