A pet Shih Tzu dog could not walk straight and its heavily matted coat had 12-inch "dreads" covered in filth after "prolonged" confinement in a small cage in a house in Dublin, a court heard.
Rosemary Costello, of Glenties Park, Finglas, avoided jail but was fined €150 on Monday after pleading guilty at Dublin District Court to neglecting her dog Rex and not safeguarding its health and welfare.
Judge Anthony Halpin said it was a tragic set of circumstances, and the dog would still probably be in a state of distress but for the intervention of the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA).
He said the fine he imposed did not reflect the gravity of the case, but he had to take into consideration the circumstances of the defendant, who is on a disability benefit and is a carer for her husband with Alzheimer's disease and another family member with profound intellectual difficulties.
DSPCA inspector Shane Lawlor told Judge Halpin that the white male dog was heavily matted and found in a very small crate before being taken into the care of the animal welfare agency in February last year.
He said the dog was very restrained in a crate or cage and "struggled to walk" when let out.
Rex had to be sedated to be groomed and has been in a foster home since then, where he is happy and thriving.
He said the damage inflicted on the dog was unintentional, "but it would have caused unnecessary suffering".
The DSPCA exhibited photos of the dog's living conditions, showing Rex was "the full size of the cage". After being kept in the crate, "it could only circle; it could not walk straight".
"It had no freedom and was obviously mentally suffering. It was literally spinning in circles over and over again," Inspector Lawlor said, adding that it took over a year and a half to train the dog to stop spinning.
Almost 2kg of his matted coat was shorn from the dog, about a sixth of its total body weight. It was impossible to say precisely how long the dog had been in that condition, but the inspector thought more than a year.
The DSPCA did not seek an order for costs after the accused did not try to get Rex back and consented to the dog being re-homed.
Inspector Lawlor said it would be detrimental to let her have the dog back, which has had a new lease of life. He said Costello had not intentionally harmed her dog, but when she was interviewed, she would not explain and answered "no comment".
He agreed with the defence that she had never come to attention before.
Counsel said the accused was blind in one eye, had asthma and also cared for her husband and another relative.
Detailed evidence was outlined by the DSPCA's vet, Elise O'Byrne-White, who corroborated that Rex had "severe matting of its coat and dreading" and was quite aggressive.
She described the matting as abnormal and said she sedated the dog for an exam, and the matting and dreads, some over 12 inches, were covered in faeces. He had to be clipped down to the skin.
Afterwards, it was noticed that he was spinning, circling, barking and tail-chasing. It was significant and led to a concern over the psychological representation of these repetitive behaviours and movement patterns that seemed to have no obvious function.
The vet explained that they served as a coping mechanism, which was strongly associated with animals kept in prolonged captivity in suboptimal conditions, where they cannot express normal behaviour, and was indicative of poor welfare.
To tackle the symptoms, Rex was treated with medication and a behavioural modification plan. It took over a year before there was significant improvement, but not complete eradication of these behaviours.
She said prolonged confinement in the cage was not appropriate, and she reported that the dog's unnecessary suffering would have been clear to any reasonable owner. Dr O'Fynn-White believed the animal deteriorated over months, potentially years.
The defence counsel said Costello had been a diligent pet owner with a dog licence, and she had Rex microchipped. However, this happened after the accused had been unable to leave her home during the Covid-19 pandemic, when she feared for her health or that she would infect family members.
As a result, she could not get the dog to a groomer.
A doctor's report was furnished, showing it had affected her mental health, and since her dog was taken, she had made numerous attempts to find out about Rex's condition.
The judge accepted that Rex was an important member of her family, but he expressed concerns that she had not attempted to groom the pet herself.
Given her financial circumstances, counsel urged the court to impose a low fine.
The judge did not disqualify her from keeping pets and ordered her to pay the fine within three months.
Legal aid was granted to Costello, who did not address the court.
