A Dundee woman has been banned from owning animals after dumping a sick dog in a bin while he was still alive.
Heather Stott abandoned her pet — a pointer crossbreed called Dougall — in an industrial waste bin on Dundonald Street with no water or food and unable to escape.
Dougall was taken to the vet and had to be put down.
Stott, 58, of Court Street, previously admitted Stott admitted that between March 19 and April 15, at Court Street, while being responsible for an animal she caused the animal unnecessary suffering.
The charge stated she knew or ought to have known that her actions would have caused suffering to the animal. She committed the offence by failing to provide adequate care and treatment for the dog which was suffering from emaciation, dehydration and dental disease.
She further admitted a second charge that between April 14 and 15, at Dundonald Street, while being responsible for Dougall, she abandoned the animal without reasonable excuse and in circumstances where it was likely to cause him unnecessary suffering.
Stott committed this offence by abandoning Dougall in an industrial waste bin without access to nutrition or water and no means of escape.
At Dundee Sheriff Court today, she was given 80 hours of unpaid work, discounted from 100 hours, and disqualified from owning animals and keeping animals for an indefinite period.
Dougall was found by a member of the public unable to stand amid refuse.
A public appeal was launched by the SSPCA in a bid in a bid for information.
At the time, the SSPCA described the treatment of the dog as “unimaginably cruel” and said the animal would have “suffered a great deal”.
Sheriff George Way told the court that he didn’t believe Stott “had really intended to play out in the way that it did”.
However he added: “If you have something like a dog, or anything, then that is in your care and we can’t send out the message that it is acceptable to do these things.”
An agent appearing on behalf of Stott said that his client had believed Dougall, who was between 16 and 17-years-old and had been in her care for three to four years, was dead when she left him in the waste bin.
He added that the dog had suffered from health problems and was not able to digest food or take in water and that Stott had not sought veterinary care for the animal having been distracted due to caring for her aging sister.
Her sister, Norma Stott, 71, also of Court Street, Dundee, earlier had her not guilty plea accepted by the Crown.
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