Renee Cooper, from Northfield, was banned from keeping animals for ten years
Renee Cooper(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
A mum starved an ‘XL Bully’ so severely it had to be put down.
Renee Cooper kept Lyah in her garden and claimed she fed the dog but did not check to see if it had eaten.
The dog had suffered for at least three weeks, a court heard.
Cooper, aged 40, from Claerwen Grove, Northfield, admitted two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and a further animal welfare offence.
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At Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (January 22) she was sentenced to an intensive supervision court (ISC) order and banned from keeping animals for ten years.
The offences described Lyah as an ‘XL Bully type dog’.
Janita Patel, prosecuting for the RSPCA, confirmed that the animal welfare charity was contacted on October 14, 2024 after the dog was brought into the PDSA vets in a ‘collapsed and emaciated state’.
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She said: “Such was her condition she had to be euthanised.”
The dog was described as being ‘extremely underweight’, skeletal and with various wounds that were covered in faeces.
A post-mortem concluded the dog was in poor bodily condition with no underlying conditions that would have caused it to lose its appetite.
An expert estimated the dog had suffered physically and mentally for a minimum of three weeks.
Renee Cooper(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
Ms Patel said: “You wouldn’t expect a reasonable owner not to have taken the animal to a vet.
“The defendant accepted ownership. She said the dog lived outside and maintained she did provide it with food and water but failed to check whether it was eating it on a daily basis.
“She said she was irresponsible for not checking.”
The court was told Cooper had two dependent children.
District judge Michelle Smith stated it was a ‘very serious’ case but confirmed she would ‘step back’ from imposing a prison sentence and instead imposed the ISC order.
Cooper must complete up to 30 days of rehabilitation activity and 12 sessions of a mental health treatment programme.