Indian-origin man in UK given suspended sentence for starving, chaining pet dog

London, Jul 17 (PTI) A 41-year-old Indian-origin man was given a suspended sentence in the UK and banned from keeping dogs for two years for chaining his underweight pet dog to a freezer by a metal chain after it gave birth to seven puppies.

Gurminder Singh of Coventry was convicted in June of causing unnecessary suffering to his dog, Sasha, a Presa Canario, who had given birth a few weeks ago, The Coventry Telegraph newspaper reported earlier this month.

He was sentenced after pleading guilty to one offence under the Animal Welfare Act, the report said.

Apart from the two-year ban, Singh was also given an eight-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months, ordered to pay GBP 400 costs and a GBP 128 victim surcharge and do 80 hours of unpaid work.

Sasha appeared to be extremely underweight, with her spine, ribs and pelvic bones visible, and her seven puppies had weaned early due to her weak condition, the report said.

The dog and her puppies were admitted to a veterinary hospital, where Sasha was found to be grossly underweight. An examination by the vet found that Sasha weighed 25.7kg, nearly half the 40kg healthy average for that breed.

“…It can be confirmed that this dog had been suffering through a process of a lack of appropriate nutrition. The duration of this is approximately three weeks, though likely longer,” the vet’s statement said.

In mitigation, Singh told the court he was not a bad dog owner and had GBP 222 worth of dog food in his fridge, which he had been feeding Sasha.

“I am suspending that custodial sentence for 12 months. I impose an eight-week prison sentence now suspended for 12 months – note I have reduced the sentence because of your early guilty plea,” the judge said, announcing the sentence.