AN "animal lover" has been sentenced for cruelty to his pet dog after it was found severely dehydrated and emaciated in a cage full of faeces.
Peter Redmile, of Comfrey Close in Top Valley, appeared at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
The 45-year-old was handed an 11-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months, and banned from keeping dogs for five years.
The court heard how a police officer had spotted the dog, a Staffordshire bull terrier called Scooby, inside a makeshift pen in Redmile's back garden.
Prosecutor Rosie Wilde said: "At about 5.15pm on May 9, the officer saw the Staffie caged in the back garden. The dog was whimpering and barking.
"The cage was four foot wide and six foot long. The ground was covered in seven weeks' worth of dog faeces.
"The officer could also see there were three water bowls with green stagnant water in them. One of the water bowls had faeces floating in it.
"There was no food in the kennel and there was fur missing from the dog's neck. It was clear the dog was not being cared for in the correct manner and needed to be removed."
A vet who treated the Staffie found he was underweight and dehydrated to potentially life-threatening levels.
The dog made a full recovery following treatment.
Nick Walsh, defending, said: "Mr Redmile has owned dogs for most of his adult life and this particular dog remains very important to him.
"He had the dog for nine years and had him as a puppy. He cared very much for the dog.
"We have to accept that when the officers saw Scooby on May 9, he was in a very poor condition. He was found in a cage which we accept was disgusting.
"Mr Redmile would say that Scooby would spend most of his time in the house with him and would only go into the cage for very short periods of time.
"He had problems with his health which became very severe in the early part of this year and it soon impacted on his ability to look after Scooby properly. Money in particular was a struggle.
"Since then his situation has improved and efforts have been made to clean up the area where Scooby was. He is also looking after himself better.
"He very much wants to have Scooby back again under his care."
Redmile also pleaded guilty to possessing amphetamines and cannabis after officers discovered the drugs at his house. He also admitted stealing £1,700 of electricity.
District judge Leo Pyle said: "You can spend money on drugs yet you fail to care for a dog which was found without food, in a state of emaciation, dehydration and left to stand in his own faeces.
"It's patently obvious that the animal had been left in that pen for some time."
As well as the 11-week suspended prison term and five-year ban on keeping dogs, Redmile was ordered to pay a total of £500 compensation and an £80 victim surcharge.
Scooby will be rehomed by police.
