A dog's coat was so neglected that it had to have an anaesthetic while the matted hair was clipped, a court was told.

The Old English sheepdog, called Rosie, was found to be covered from head to tail in matted, dirty hair.

Her owners, who admitted causing unnecessary suffering, were banned from looking after an animal for 18 months.

Michael Conroy, 49, and his wife, Paula, 39, of Roundwood Avenue, Ravenscliffe, were also fined £300 each by the city's magistrates and ordered to pay £600 costs between them.

Nigel Monaghan, prosecuting, said an RSPCA officer found the dog in the kitchen and noticed the condition of its coat was very poor. A vet noticed it stank of urine and had excrement around its tail. It was "literally covered from head to tail'' in matted, dirty hair. His view was that the dog would have suffered for a period of months.

When interviewed, Michael Conroy said the dog liked to roll about in mud and would come back "in a state.''

He added: "I honestly don't think she was suffering. If I thought she was suffering I would have kept her coat short.''

In another RSPCA prosecution, a woman who took a cross-bred dog off the street failed to look after it properly herself, magistrates were told.

Tracey Brown was moving out of her flat in Reyner House, Bradford, when removal men found the animal crying in the kitchen.

Prosecutor Mr Monaghan said that while they were at the flat one of them overheard Brown say he was planning to dump the dog in Manningham Park.

When the 30-year-old and her boyfriend were asked what they were going to do with it, they told the men they could take it with them. The dog was taken from the property, fed, and bathed before it was taken to the RSPCA.

When it was examined, a vet found the dog was less than two-thirds its normal weight and had not received adequate food for several weeks.

Brown, of Lennon Drive, Bradford, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the animal by failing to provide it with proper care and attention.

She was fined £100, ordered to pay £100 costs and banned from looking after an animal for two years.