Brothers guilty of letting dog get fat

[faceless]

Rusty 'Grossly' Overweight
Updated: 15:06, Friday January 12, 2007

Two brothers have been found guilty of animal cruelty for allowing their pet dog's weight to exceed more than 11 stone. Derek and David Benton were convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to their dog Rusty by overfeeding. The pair, aged 62 and 53 respectively, from Fordham, Cambridgeshire, allowed the dog's weight to rise from eight to more than 11-and-a-half-stone in two years. RSPCA inspectors say the Bentons failed to give Rusty an appropriate diet and allowed the dog to become "hugely and grossly" overweight. The brothers said the dog is overweight because it has arthritis and cannot exercise easily.

Their lawyer, Ann-Marie Gregory, told magistrates in Ely, Cambridgeshire: "They are not specialist dog trainers. They are not specialist Labrador trainers. They are common or garden dog owners." The RSPCA had spent more than £3,000 trying to reduce the dog's weight in recent months. She added: "How many people have £3,000 in their pocket to spend on their pet dog?". Miss Gregory said there was no evidence that the dog had been "stuffed" with treats or overfed. She said the Bentons fed him a small bowl of dog food in the mornings and the evenings and gave him a bone as a treat on a Saturday.

Prosecutor Stephen Climie refuted her suggestions that the prosecution was a "test case". "This is not a test case," he said. "This is a case peculiar to its facts." The brothers denied any offence. RSPCA inspectors took the dog from the brothers in March and since then it has lost three-and-a-half stones under the guidance of vets.

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That's pretty good they can do this for a dog - next step, parents who feed their kids so much that they become grossly overweight. Imagine a dog having better protection against this type of abuse than children?

[Skylace]

We've had children taken away by the State of the New Mexico because they were being overfed and were obese as a result.

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[IRiSHMaFIA]

I've always thought that parents that let their children get grossly over weight should be charged with child abuse. It's putting their health at risk and doing them mental harm as well. Children are ridiculed horribly if they're over weight and it's not their fault.

I'm glad they're doing this with these 2. Even though some think they're doing their pet a favour by giving them treats or feeding them human food, they're slowly killing the them as they'd have the same health problems as a human would being over weight.

[Skylace]

[Kezza]