A woman who left a dog to suffer with severe skin lesions among other health problems has been banned from keeping animals for seven years.
Abigail Barker, of Raylands Way in Leeds, left her female French Bulldog Cookie with “severe” skin lesions and a “chronic” ear infection. The dog also suffered from extensive fur loss on her face and body, which had been made worse by her scratching.
Barker was handed the ban at Kirklees Magistrates Court on Friday, January 3, after she was found guilty of two Animal Welfare offences following a trial in December. Magistrates heard how an RSPCA investigation was launched after Animal Rescue Officer, Kris Walker, had visited Barker’s home on January 12, 2024, to check on the welfare of a dog there.
The officer said: “I saw a fawn female French bulldog type dog named Cookie in the kitchen area of the property. She appeared to be a good body weight, and was bright and alert, however she had an obvious skin condition. There was hair loss over her back, her skin was sore on her feet and they were red and swollen.
“Miss Barker advised that she had previously attended the PDSA with Cookie as she had mange, but once the skin condition came back she did not return.”
ARO Walker visited again in February to see if the advice had been followed, but Barker brought Cookie out and said she had not gone to the vet, and her condition had got worse. Cookie’s skin was infected all the way up her legs and was red raw, with a strong smell of infection.
Cookie had an ear infection
(Image: RSPCA)
Her ears were sore, she had lost weight and she appeared despondent. Barker gave consent for Cookie to be taken to urgent veterinary treatment by the RSPCA, and Barker said money was not an issue, but she did not drive.
The vet examined Cookie, who weighed 10.7kg, giving her a body score of two-out-of-nine. Her ribs, vertebrae and pelvic bones were visible, and she had extensive skin lesions on her face, ears, trunk and legs.
In addition, her facial folds were red and inflamed with yellow discharge. Her ears were severely thickened, with the canals narrow and infected.
Cookie was covered in lesions
(Image: RSPCA)
Cookie also had significant hair loss around her eyes, ears, abdomen, limbs and toes, with the thick skin consistent with severe and chronic self-trauma from scratching and licking. Her nails were visibly overgrown and were curling into the floor.
Blood tests showed there was no reason for the dog’s poor body condition, leading the vet to conclude it was due to a lack of food.
The vet also said with the right treatment, Cookie could recover from her skin condition. The extensive skin injuries could have been avoided with routine flea and worming treatment, nail trimming, appropriate food and routine vet visits.
Some of Cookie’s injuries
(Image: RSPCA)
In her written evidence, the vet added: “It’s my professional opinion, due to her severe, extensive, and chronic itchy skin as well as the bilateral chronic ear infections, that the person responsible for Cookie caused her unnecessary suffering and had failed to meet the dog’s needs via the appropriate veterinary attention and treatment.
“A reasonable owner would recognise and seek treatment for such diffuse dramatic skin lesions and scratching. These problems were clearly visible due to her loss of hair, prominent discharge and malformation of ears and her frequent scratching behaviour.”
The vet concluded that “from the severity of the skin lesions that Cookie had suffered for a minimum of four weeks.”
Cookie was signed over into the RSPCA’s care by Barker and she was cared for by a foster carer from the RSPCA Burton upon Trent & District Branch, who then adopted her. Two other dogs owned by Barker were rehomed before she was sentenced.
Now banned from owning dogs for seven years, Barker will not be able to contest this for five years. Magistrates also ordered her to complete a 12 month community order to include up to 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
She was also made to pay costs of £250 and a victim surcharge of £114.
Barker, who represented herself, said in mitigation that she had little to say about the matter other than that she was sorry, but she did not think the situation was as bad as had been claimed. She said she was “well known” in the area as animal lover and had tried her hardest to look after Cookie, but French Bulldogs were not easy to care for.
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