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A Wirral woman who drowned her pet dog in a Birkenhead boating lake after believing the animal was suffering from cancer has been banned from keeping animals for life, according to the Birkenhead News.
Michelle Moran, from Higher Bebington, appeared at Liverpool Magistrates' court on May 28. She pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Moran received a 17-week suspended prison sentence alongside her permanent ban on owning animals.
The court heard that Moran threw her Jack Russell, Gypsy, into a boating lake on Gautby Road in Birkenhead in September last year. The dog's body was discovered by a member of the public the following day.
An investigation began after the RSPCA received a report on October 30 last year about a Jack Russell dog whose body had been pulled from a boating lake in Birkenhead weeks earlier.
Moran initially told investigators the incident had been an accident. Later, she admitted to throwing the dog in the water because she believed the animal was ill.
She claimed the dog had tumours and was losing her eyesight.
After Gypsy's death, an RSPCA investigation found she was underweight (weighing only 3.7kg) during a vet examination. Evidence presented to the court stated Moran failed to seek veterinary treatment for the dog and had caused her unnecessary suffering by drowning rather than putting her to sleep.
As part of her sentence, Moran was also ordered to follow a nighttime curfew, complete 25 rehabilitation activity days, and pay a victim surcharge of £154.
The court was told Moran said she could not afford veterinary treatment.
Following the hearing, RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes described the incident as a "callous act" and said Gypsy would have suffered a distressing and inhumane death.
