August 2021 Dog discovered dead and partly eaten in garden of Scots home where two other pets found starving A man starved his dogs so badly that one died and was eaten as it lay dead in a garden. Kenneth Martin neglected his two Dogue de Bordeaux breeds and a Japanese Akita over several weeks Ayr Sheriff Court heard yesterday that a Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) investigator found the property covered in dog mess. The animals were so thin and dehydrated that they would have died had the charity not arrived when it did. The details of the horror discovery emerged when Martin, 54, who had previously pleaded guilty to three animal welfare charges, returned to the dock to be sentenced. Prosecutor Rosalind Walsh told the court that the SSPCA had been called due to a report of “a dead dog being seen in the garden”. She: “There was a deceased female Dogue de Bordeaux which appeared to have been partly eaten. “There was an emaciated dog of the same breed. “Once inside the property, investigators found a third dog, a female Japanese Akita, which was also in an emaciated state.” The animals were examined by a vet who found they had “no body fat reserves”, were “severely dehydrated” and had “muscle wastage”. The living Dogue de Bordeaux had “infected sores on its body, possibly producing a rotting smell”, while the Akita was displaying signs of “repetitive behaviour” – an indication it was suffering from “ammonia inhalation or confinement stress”. Walsh added: “They endured unnecessary suffering and were at risk of dying if not for the intervention of the SSPCA.” Martin, of Cumnock, East Ayrshire, was not at the property but investigators located his sister, who told them he had abandoned the address. Sheriff Colin Pettigrew fined Martin £2,075 and banned him from keeping dogs for life.