CONVICTED (2021) | Patrick Megal Dale Carter, born 3 September 1986, of 53 Kirkwall Drive, Holme Wood, Bradford BD4 0DL – left his four dogs to starve and seek shelter in a wheelie bin Patrick Carter is banned from keeping animals after severely mistreating his four dogs Bermudan national Carter, who also has links to the LS11 postcode of Leeds, admitted two offences under the Animal Welfare Act in a court hearing: causing unnecessary suffering to the four animals and failing to take reasonable steps to ensure their needs were met. Carter said he was unable to feed his four dogs after losing his job and left them to starve in filthy conditions with only an overturned wheelie bin for shelter. The mastiff-type dogs – named Millie, Patrick, Ernest and Dash – were so ravenous they had eaten pieces of plastic and polystyrene. Millie after being rescued by the RSPCA RSPCA Inspector Kris Walker said: “All four dogs were kept outside without any shelter available to them, apart from a wheelie bin that they were all trying to hide in. “They were all underweight with their ribs and spine visible and all four appeared subdued. “Millie, a bulldog cross breed, seemed very unsteady on her back legs which were caked in mud and Ernest, a mastiff type dog, had an extremely swollen and bloated stomach.” Carter gave Inspector Walker permission to take the dogs to a vet for examination. All four dogs had items of plastic found in their faeces. The vet concluded all were severely underweight, malnourished, hungry and dehydrated to such a degree that they had resorted to eating items in their environment. Millie has thrived in the RSPCA’s care Youngster Patrick, just six months old, was in the poorest condition of the four dogs. Police seized the dogs and passed them into the care of the RSPCA. Carter told the court he could no longer afford to feed the dogs after losing his job, but magistrates told him he should have sought help rather than leaving them to suffer. Sentencing: 12 month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activities’ costs and charges totalling £840. A mere five year ban on keeping animals (expires February 2026). Telegraph & Argus