logo
Inverallochy couple banned from keeping dogs after pet husky found starving

Inverallochy couple banned from keeping dogs after pet husky found starving

Press and Journal21 hours ago
An Inverallochy couple who left their pet husky severely underweight because they failed to feed it a proper diet have been banned from keeping dogs for the next three years.
Deborah Duncan and Reece Gordon were sentenced at Peterhead Sheriff Court after arriving at the building, hiding under their coats.
The duo's husky, Kyro, should have weighed about 22kg when it was rescued by the Scottish SPCA, but after going in for emergency surgery vets recorded its weight at just 14kg.
Duncan, 26, had initially refused to relinquish her ownership of the dog on request but failed to challenge the charity's bid within the timescale allowed. The dog has since been rehomed.
Fiscal depute Emma Petersen told the court that Kyro had been taken in for surgery at the PDSA, a charity vet, to remove a sponge from his stomach and, on September 21 last year, while at Vets Now Veterinary Practice for post-op care, staff alerted the Scottish SPCA to their concerns.
'He scored one out of nine on the weight scale,' Ms Petersen said.
'At that time, Kyro weighed 14 kilos. The accused, Duncan, had brought the dog into the PDSA surgery principally because he hadn't eaten in several days and hadn't drunk in several days as well.
'The dog was seized by the SSPCA and the accused, Duncan, was advised of that on the 23rd of September.'
Kyro would be examined by vets following his rescue, who reported muscle wastage across his whole body.
Ms Peterson added: 'It was the opinion of vets that the dog had been caused unnecessary suffering.'
They concluded the animal's nutritional needs had not been met for 'several weeks if not longer'.
An inspector later met both Duncan and Gordon, 27, at their Allochy Road home, where they were told the dog would be taken away.
Despite declining to give up ownership, neither challenged an official notice within the allowed time period.
A spokeswoman for the charity last night said the dog's weight loss would have been apparent to 'any reasonable person'.
She added: 'Kyro should have been brought to a vet a lot sooner. He was visibly underweight, weak, and had clearly been suffering. His owners' delay in seeking veterinary help has led to prolonged and unnecessary suffering.
'Kryo has since been adopted and now living the life he deserves.'
Duncan's defence solicitor, Iain Jane, said the couple had been struggling financially at the time of the incident.
'It's not been, as such, a wilful neglect of the animal, it's been a combination of really poor personal circumstances that resulted in her income being cut because of underlying health difficulties she was having with a troublesome pregnancy,' he said.
'There's also a strain in terms of the finances because of the co-accused as well. Effectively, the family were barely coping and didn't seek, probably, the appropriate help.'
Mr Jane also noted that while the dog was being fed, it was acknowledged it was not being fed nutritionally.
He added: 'It was just unfortunate circumstances that manifested at that particular time, where Miss Duncan accepts she could have made better choices about matters.'
Acting for Gordon, solicitor Erin Buchanan, said her client was in 'largely the same' position.
She said Gordon had moved to the area from Aberdeen for work but found himself out of employment at the time and 'simply couldn't afford to eat himself'.
'Mr Gordon takes full responsibility for the part that he played in the commission of the offence,' Ms Buchanan added.
'He advises that he fell short in that respect.'
Sentencing the couple, Sheriff Alan Sinclair said both would need to complete hours of unpaid work and that he felt it was 'necessary' to ban them from taking on another dog in the immediate future.
'I am going to offer you a community payback order in relation to this,' he said.
'You can be arrested for any alleged failure to comply. You need to comply with the order.
'I will also impose a disqualification order. The order will disqualify you from owning or keeping dogs for a period of 36 months. I make this order on the basis that it's necessary to ensure that other animals are not mistreated in your care. I consider the risk of harm to dogs is likely to endure for that period.'
Both will now be required to complete 96 hours of unpaid work within the next year.
Gordon, in addition, will be under the eye of the council's social work department for 12 months and attend any appointments it deems necessary to prevent his reoffending.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Teenager dies from injuries after collision in Co Galway
Teenager dies from injuries after collision in Co Galway

BreakingNews.ie

time14 minutes ago

  • BreakingNews.ie

Teenager dies from injuries after collision in Co Galway

A woman in her late teens has died from her injuries after a two-car collision in Tuam, Co Galway, on Sunday. The collision happened at Ballygaddy Road at approximately 6:05pm. Advertisement The driver of one of the cars, a female aged in her late teens, was conveyed to University Hospital Galway, where she has since passed away. The driver and passenger of the second car, a man in his 20s and a woman in her 30s, were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Gardaí are appealing for anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward. Any persons who were in the Ballygaddy Road area between 5:50pm and 6:15pm and who may have witnessed the incident should contact investigating gardaí. Any road users who were travelling in this vicinity at the time, and who may have camera footage including dash cam, are asked to make this footage available to investigating gardaí. Gardaí can be contacted at the Tuam Garda Station on 093 70840, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station. Investigations are ongoing.

Judge will consider releasing Kilmar Ábrego García from jail, which may allow second deportation
Judge will consider releasing Kilmar Ábrego García from jail, which may allow second deportation

The Guardian

time14 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Judge will consider releasing Kilmar Ábrego García from jail, which may allow second deportation

A federal judge in Tennessee could rule on Wednesday on whether to release Kilmar Ábrego García from jail to await trial on human smuggling charges, a decision that could allow Donald Trump's administration to try to deport the Maryland construction worker for a second time. Lawyers for the justice department have said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) will detain Ábrego García if he's freed. Ice officials have said they will initiate deportation proceedings against the Salvadoran national and will possibly try to send him to a third country such as Mexico or South Sudan. Ábrego García became a flashpoint over the Republican Trump's immigration policies when he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That expulsion violated a US immigration judge's 2019 order that shields Ábrego García from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there. The Trump administration claimed Abrego Garcia was in the MS-13 gang, although he wasn't charged and has repeatedly denied the allegation. Facing mounting pressure and a US supreme court order, the administration returned Ábrego García to the US last month to face the smuggling charges, which his attorneys have called 'preposterous'. US district Judge Waverly D Crenshaw Jr scheduled a hearing in Nashville to consider the matter of releasing Ábrego García from jail to await his trial. Waverly will review last month's order by US magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville to free Ábrego García. Holmes determined that Ábrego García was not a flight risk or a danger to the community and set various conditions for his release, including wearing an ankle bracelet and living with his brother in Maryland. Waverly scheduled Wednesday's hearing following a motion by federal prosecutors to revoke Holmes' release order. The prosecutors argue Ábrego García is a flight risk and a danger to the community. Holmes has kept Ábrego García in jail at the request of his lawyers over concerns the Trump administration will try to deport him upon release. The attorneys asked Holmes to keep him in jail until Wednesday's hearing before Waverly to review her release order. The smuggling case stems from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding, during which Ábrego García was driving a vehicle with nine passengers. Police in Tennessee suspected human smuggling, but he was allowed to drive on. Ábrego García lived and worked in Maryland for more than a decade, doing construction and raising a family. Ábrego García's American wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is suing the Trump administration in federal court in Maryland over his wrongful deportation in March, while trying to prevent any attempts to expel him again. Ábrego García's attorneys have asked US district Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland to order the government to send him to Maryland if he's released in Tennessee, a request that aims to prevent his expulsion before trial. In court on Friday, Ábrego García's attorneys also asked for at least a 72-hour hold that would prevent his immediate deportation. Attorney Andrew Rossman called it the 'critical bottom-line protection' needed to prevent a potentially egregious violation of due process rights. Xinis didn't rule from the bench Friday but said she'd issue an order before Waverly's hearing on Wednesday. If Abrego Garcia is released into Ice custody, his lawyers have vowed to fight expulsion efforts within the US immigration court system, which is part of the justice department.

Police face ban from marching in Pride parades after court rules it breaches impartiality
Police face ban from marching in Pride parades after court rules it breaches impartiality

Daily Mail​

time14 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Police face ban from marching in Pride parades after court rules it breaches impartiality

Police officers face being banned from participating in Pride parades after a court ruled that one of Britain's largest forces breached impartiality by marching at an LGBT + rights event. The Chief Constable of Northumbria Police acted unlawfully when she allowed uniformed officers to march under a transgender flag at a Pride event last year, a judge ruled today. A judicial review was brought by Lindsay Smith, a gender-critical campaigner, who argued that the force broke the professional oath sworn by police officers to act 'with impartiality'. Officers from Northumbria had a stall at last year's Pride parade in Newcastle, marched under the Progress flag promoting transgender ideology and painted a police van with trans colours. Ms Smith, a lesbian who participated in the event, asked the court to find that 'the above activities of the Force during Newcastle Pride in the City 2024, and the decision of the Chief Constable that officers could or should participate in such activities, were unlawful'. In his ruling at the High Court in Leeds today, Mr Justice Linden agreed and said it was 'contrary to the uniformed officers' duties of impartiality', as well as the chief constable Vanessa Jardine's 'own duty of impartiality, to participate in the 2024 march in the way that they did'. The judgment states: 'If one then asks whether the officers' activity of taking part in the March was likely to give rise to the impression amongst members of the public that it may interfere with their ability to discharge their duties impartially… the answer seems to me clearly to be 'yes'. 'Moreover, the fact that they wore their uniforms, marched as a contingent, and carried the Police Pride and other flags demonstrated their support for the cause as police officers.' Mr Justice Linden added that this could suggest the force's 'institutional support for gender ideology and transgender rights' and warned that this could be seen by the public as the force 'taking sides' in the women's rights debate. Ms Smith said she was 'delighted' with the ruling as it would be 'terrifying to live in a community where the police have abandoned their duty of impartiality and embraced a highly controversial political cause'. She added: 'My hope is that Northumbria Police change their ways and follow this ruling. If they do they will be policing the community for everyone.' The ruling only relates to the Pride event in 2024 but Mr Justice Linden said that it is for Northumbria's Chief Constable to decide on the force's approach to this year's event 'in the light of what I have said in this judgment'. According to lawyers for Ms Smith, the ruling will raise questions over the participation of police forces in all Pride events - including Northumbria Police's role in Newcastle Pride 2025 which is scheduled to take place this weekend. Paul Conrathe, Ms Smith's solicitor, said that the ruling was of 'national importance' as 'British police must be above the fray and avoid taking sides on contested issues'. He added: 'This judgement should give Chief Constables and officers around the country serious pause for thought. They wield the power of the State and should not be seen to associate with controversial political causes. If they do they will be breaking the law.' A Northumbria Police spokesman said that its 'primary aim' during last year's march was 'to keep people safe' but that the event also provided the force 'with an opportunity to engage with people including those who may have less confidence in policing.' The force did not say whether it would take part in this weekend's Newcastle Pride parade but added: 'We will work through the ruling to understand the implications, while staying true to our values of fairness, visibility, and support for all.' Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said: 'We are working through the detail of this judgment and will ensure this decision is communicated to forces for them to consider. 'We are also working with the College of Policing on broader guidance which will help local forces make decisions around participation in events to maintain their impartiality.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store