In a shocking case of animal cruelty, a couple has been sentenced to prison for starving their Lurcher dog, Tiggy, to death.
Kerry Patterson, 35, and Reece Milburn, 30, initially claimed to have found the three-year-old dog abandoned along a roadside, reporting their “discovery” to their local council.
When an animal welfare officer visited their home in Blyth, Northumberland, he was appalled by the dog’s condition, calling it the “worst case” he’d encountered in his 15 years of service.
Tiggy was found emaciated, with her ribs visible due to severe weight loss and almost no fur covering her body. She was extremely dehydrated, covered in rashes, infested with mites, and so weak she could not stand.
The distressing discovery was made in the days leading up to Christmas 2019. Photos of Tiggy’s dire state quickly spread online, leading Northumberland County Council to launch a public appeal to identify her owners.
Within days, numerous letters pointed to Patterson and Milburn as Tiggy’s guardians.
On March 3rd, the couple appeared in North Tyneside Magistrates Court, where they admitted to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
They also confessed to neglecting their other dog, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Enzo, who suffers from a skin condition and a mite infestation.
The court sentenced them to 12 weeks in prison and banned them from owning animals for life. They were also ordered to pay a fine of £120 each.
Philip Soderquest, a spokesperson for the council, described this case as “one of the most appalling and high-profile examples of animal cruelty the county has ever seen.”
He commended the animal welfare team’s dedication to bringing the offenders to justice, despite the lengthy two-year process.
Thanks to the efforts of the Berwick Animal Rescue Centre, Tiggy’s story has a happy ending. She has been adopted into a new home, surrounded by loving caretakers and canine friends, and even has a new name to match her fresh start.
As for Enzo, he remains in a kennel, patiently awaiting a forever home.
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