WARNING – DISTRESSING CONTENT: Paulina Goetzen, 32, and Petrica Danila, 29, have been banned from keeping pets for 10 years after their American Bulldog Grizzly was found to have been starved to death
A heartless couple who allowed their dog to starve to death have been banned from keeping pets for 10 years after a horrified vet saw the animal and called the RSPCA.
Paulina Goetzen, 32, and Petrica Danila, 29, admitted failing to provide adequate nutrition for their American Bulldog Grizzly, who weighed just 15kg when he tragically passed away. According to a postmortem, Grizzly had died from asphyxiation after choking on food at the pair’s home in Luton, Bedfordshire – but when they took his emaciated body to the vets, a member of staff was alarmed by the animal’s condition and contacted the RSPCA. The vet said Grizzly showed an absence of fat tissue, muscle wastage and serous atrophy of the bone marrow which are consistent with a prolonged period of starvation.
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Inspector Susan Haywood said: “When I saw Grizzly’s body, it was immediately apparent that he was emaciated as all his bones and in particular his ribs were sticking out from his body.
“This poor dog would have suffered and as the vet report concluded, this could have been for a prolonged period of time. Pets rely on us to ensure their needs are met and there is no excuse to allow your pet to get into this sorry state.”
The vet said Grizzly would have been suffering for at least two weeks from weakness, fatigue, exercise intolerance and discomfort in the lead up to his tragic death.
Goetzen and Danila apologised and said they didn’t have the funds to take Grizzly to the vet, adding they knew they should have done sooner.
The court also heard Goetzen has three children and suffers from multiple sclerosis. Danila and Goetzen were each sentenced to 16 weeks in custody, suspended for 12 months.
Danila was additionally required to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work but no requirements were placed on Goetzen due to her medical issues.
The couple were also banned from keeping all animals for 10 years and ordered to pay £1,696.31 each to be paid at a rate of £50 per month.