Woman who starved dog to death and left pets in urine-soaked cage jailed

A WOMAN who starved a dog to death and left her pets in urine-soaked cages in "one of the worst cruelty cases" a court had ever seen has been jailed today.

Jodi RussellSWNS

A woman who left her pets to starve in urine soaked cages has been jailed for five months

Jodi Russell, 28, was sentenced to five months in prison and banned from keeping animals for life because of her "shocking" level of care for pets.

The mother-of-four's two dogs were described as looking "lifeless" when they were found by an RSPA inspector living in squalid conditions.

One dog, Storm, who was described as the thinnest a vet had ever seen died of starvation within 24 hours of being found.

The other pet, who had been treated in the same way, luckily managed to survive and was later re-homed.

One pet, called Storm, died 24 hours after being foundSWNS

One pet Storm died of starvation within 24 hours of being found

This is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty this court has seen for a very long time

Neville Jinks

During sentencing at Dudley Magistrates Court, Neville Jinks said the personal problems Russell suffered from was "no excuse" for the way she treated her pets.

The Chairman of the bench said: "This is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty this court has seen for a very long time.

"I understand you were suffering from emotional difficulties at the time, but this is no excuse for letting the two dogs suffer the way they did.

"I have no choice but to give you a custodial sentence."

Russell was found guilty of two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to the dogs and four charges of failing in her duty as owner.

The other pet luckily managed to survive and was later re-homedSWNS

The other pet luckily managed to survive and was later re-homed

The court heard an RSPCA inspector found the dogs in a starving state in filthy cages in the living room of Russell's home while children played around them.

They were discovered at Russell's home in Halesowen, West Midlands in November 2013.

The court heard Russell, who was jailed last Thursday, had been suffering emotionally following the death of her father and had recently split from her partner.

The court described it as one of the worst cruelty cases they had seenSWNS

The court described it as one of the worst cruelty cases they had seen

The defence's Daryll Foster said: "Miss Russell, in hindsight, now accepts what she has done wrong and realises she should have made steps much earlier and is now a much better person than before."

An RSPCA spokesperson said: "RSPCA inspectors deal with truly horrific cases of neglect, but it is always upsetting to see animals in such poor condition as these.

"Anyone can see simply from looking at the sorry images presented as part of the case that this was a matter where a shocking level of cruelty had taken place.

"We hope that the court's decision means no other animal will suffer at the hands of the defendant in this case."

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