A BRADFORD man who left his dogs to starve and seek shelter in a wheelie bin has been banned from keeping any animals for five years.

Patrick Miguel Dale Carter, 34, admitted two offences under the Animal Welfare Act in a hearing at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court on Tuesday; one of causing unnecessary suffering to the four animals, and one of failing to take reasonable steps to ensure the needs of the animals were met.

Carter, of Kirkwall Drive, Holme Wood, had been unable to feed his four dogs after losing his job, leaving them to starve in filthy conditions with only an overturned wheelie bin for shelter.

The dogs - named Millie, Patrick, Ernest and Dash - had been so desperately hungry they had eaten pieces of plastic and polystyrene in a desperate attempt to quell their starvation.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Millie after being rescued by the RSPCAMillie after being rescued by the RSPCA

They were found between September 26 and October 26, 2019, by the RSPCA.

RSPCA Inspector Kris Walker, who led the investigation for the animal welfare charity said: “All four dogs were kept outside without any shelter available to them, apart from a wheelie bin that they were all trying to hide in.

“They were all underweight with their ribs and spine visible and all four appeared subdued.

"Millie, a bulldog cross breed, seemed very unsteady on her back legs which were caked in mud and Ernest, a mastiff type dog, had an extremely swollen and bloated stomach.” 

Mr Walker was given permission to take the dogs for examination from a vet, who found Millie and Dash, who is another mastiff-type dog, were in lean bodily condition.

Patrick, a mastiff-type dog aged only six-months old, was in the poorest condition of all.

All four dogs had items of plastic found in their faeces. The vet concluded all of the dogs were severely underweight, malnourished, hungry and dehydrated to such a degree that they had resorted to eating items in their environment.

Police seized the dogs and passed them into the care of the RSPCA.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Millie doing much better under the care of the RSPCAMillie doing much better under the care of the RSPCA

In court, Carter told magistrates he had lost his job and been unable to afford to feed them, but magistrates told him he should have sought help rather than let the animals suffer such a high level of mistreatment.

He was handed a five year ban on keeping animals of any kinds, a 12 month community order requiring him to do 200 hours unpaid work and do 20 days of rehabilitation activities. He also had to pay costs and a victim surcharge totalling £840.