Lifetime pet ban for Nairn man who starved dog to death
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A man who starved a dog to death in a Nairn property after it was abandoned by him has been given a lifetime ban from ever keeping an animal.
But 24-year-old Brian Farmer avoided a jail sentence after Sheriff Ian Cruickshank read a background report, heard from defence solicitor David Patterson and changed his mind about custody which he said was his first thought.
Instead he ordered Farmer to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.
The court had previously been told that the American Staffordshire bull terrier named Duke chewed anything that was in the house in Church Street including a sofa, its foam filling and food tins in its vain battle to survive.
Other household items had also been eaten as the one-and-a-half-year-old canine struggled to stay alive in its unheated accommodation between September 23, 2021 and February 4, 2022.
When its skeletal and decomposing remains were the subject of a post-mortem, Duke weighed only 14kg – roughly half what an adult dog should.
Farmer, of Church Street, Nairn had already appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court and pleaded guilty to causing the dog unnecessary suffering by failing to provide it with access to food or water whereby it starved to death.
He also admitted abandoning the dog.
Sheriff Cruickshank deferred sentence on Farmer for a background report and told him: "It seems this is an incredible act of cruelty towards an animal on your part."
Clearly shocked, the sheriff asked fiscal depute Naomi Duffy-Welsh to view photographs of the animal.
Defence solicitor David Patterson agreed that it was "a horrific offence", adding: "It was a significant breach of trust and led to a completely avoidable, unnecessary and miserable death. It was not my client's dog. It had been left in his care.
"Little can be advanced to mitigate this offence which he accepts. He has had a challenging life, a lack of education and social development which led to him suffering from mental health issues.
"Clearly it is an offence where the court will be considering a jail sentence but there are other ways he can be dealt with."
Ms Duffy-Welsh told the court that Highland Council officials had broken into the property after it had been left unoccupied for some time.
"Because of the state it was in, industrial cleaners were called in and they found the dog," she said. "The SSPCA were then informed on February 4 and it was obvious it had been dead for several weeks.
"Duke was lying on the floor near a chewed up sofa and the room had various other chewed up items, including food tins, packets and the sofa's foam."
Sheriff Cruickshank told Farmer that because of his age being under 25, the fact he had never been in prison before and his personal circumstances, which were detailed in the confidential social work report, he enjoyed the protection of the law if there was an alternative to custody.
He also ordered Farmer to remain under social work supervision for two years.
