CONVICTED | Amber Mae Hume, aka Amber Mae Drew, born (2024) | 23 February 2004, of Allen Road, Hedge End, Southampton SO30, and Helen Drew, aka Ellen Drew, born 25 September 1982, of 16th Avenue, Hull HU6 – left their dog to waste away when he couldn’t open his mouth to eat. Mother and daughter Hume and Drew both pleaded guilty to one animal welfare offence of failing to investigate the cause of the poor body condition and weight loss of the dog, known as Patch. The young Staffy-type dog was found in a very emaciated condition at Drew’s home in Hull by RSPCA Inspector Natalie Hill on October 2, 2023. He was taken to vets by the inspector, but despite treatment failed to improve and was sadly put to sleep. In a statement read to the court, the inspector said that she couldn’t determine Patch’s breed because of his skeletal appearance. “Every bone on his body was showing, his head was concave to the top and the blue collar that he had on was hanging very loose around his neck,” said the inspector. The inspector was informed that Patch had been seen by a PDSA vet a month earlier, but after he developed an issue opening his mouth his owners did not take him back to the vets, blaming a “lack of finances”. A vet, who examined Patch said he was extremely underweight and dehydrated. His jaw was locked shut and during the examination, when the vet tried offering a treat to the dog, he was unable to open his mouth to take it. The RSPCA discovered that the PDSA had given the owners dietary advice and had asked them to get back in touch but they failed to do so. Patch weighed only 11.6kg when he was admitted at the vets and his body condition score was two out of nine. In a vet’s expert opinion, the dog was suffering from a disease called Masticatory Muscle Myositis and was malnourished. In mitigation the court heard that Hume was “confused as to who should take responsibility for the dog” as she was looking to move out of the Hull area at the time. She was also on medication after suffering trauma, it was said. After the sentencing, Inspector Hill said: “This was one of the most upsetting cases I’ve dealt with. Patch was only a young dog and if the defendants had taken action to determine why he was losing weight he would have made a recovery. “He was a lovely dog who was still wagging his tail when he was in a horrendous condition and starving.” Sentencing | both were handed 26-week prison sentences which were suspended for 12 months; 150 hours of unpaid work; court costs of £400 and £187 victim surcharge each. Banned from keeping dogs for life. HullLive Driffield and Wolds Weekly