Penny Gove aged 37, of Linn Road, Larne was sentenced at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 27 November, after previously pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to her Jack Russell type dog called ‘Gizmo’.
The charges were brought against Ms Gove by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council under the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011.
Proceedings followed an investigation by Council’s Animal Welfare Officer who had received a complaint In February 2024 regarding a dead dog in a rear garden in Larne.
Animal Welfare officers attended same day with a search warrant and found a dead Jack Russell type dog in the rear garden that was emaciated. No occupants were present at the time. The dog’s body was seized as evidence and subsequently a post-mortem was conducted.
The Council vet provided a report saying:
“The postmortem concluded cause of death is likely starvation. Bleeding into the GI tract is likely to have caused symptoms such as black faeces, vomiting, painful abdomen and lethargy, therefore if owner was monitoring the dog she would have noted it was unwell.
“It is difficult to determine how long the dog was starved for as there are no studies into how long an animal can survive without food. However, in the absence of diseases with access to water it is likely to take several weeks to die from starvation - causing this dog prolonged suffering.”
On 27 November 2024, District Judge Magill imposed a Lifetime disqualification order for all animals and a 3-monthcustodial sentence and ordered costs of £470.61 to be paid. Ms Gove was granted bail to appeal the sentence
Commenting on the case a spokesperson for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said:
“Council gives a high priority to the welfare of domestic pets and horses and operates a rigorous enforcement policy to ensure full compliance of regulatory requirements.
“Complaints are investigated thoroughly and where necessary formal action is taken, which may include the service of Improvement Notices, or in extreme cases, seizure of animals.
“The Council may also prosecute for offences such as in this case which I hope serves as a warning to anyone who does not take appropriate care of animals”.
Ms Gove previously pleaded in respect of causing unnecessary suffering of a dog, which are offences contrary to section 4 of the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011.
Ms Gove is appealing the sentence.