Pair who let dog starve to death are sentenced

A man and a woman who allowed one of their dogs to starve to death and another to become so emaciated she had to be put down have been disqualified from owning dogs.

Michael William Buckle, 54, and Amy Roseberry-Buckle, 42, both of Stroud, were convicted of animal welfare offences after their Shih-Tzus Daisy and Holly died following weight loss and neglect.

The RSPCA said it was contacted on 9 January 2025 after the pair took Daisy, who was dead, into a Gloucester veterinary practice so she could be cremated. A post-mortem showed she had no body fat and likely starved to death.

Holly, who was underweight and had collapsed, had been put down at the same practice a few days earlier.

Buckle, of Bisley Old Road, and Roseberry-Buckle, of Mosley Crescent, were found guilty of two offences relating to the 11-year-old dogs after failing to adequately treat the dogs' weight loss issues.

In a statement given to Cheltenham Magistrates' Court, a vet said in their opinion it would have taken at least four weeks for Holly to become so severely emaciated before she was put down on 3 January 2025.

RSPCA Inspector Richard Carr, who investigated the case, described the condition of Holly's body when vets showed him: "I could feel every single bone in her body.

"I was shocked that a dog could be in this condition and would describe her as being a skeleton with skin stretched over it."

The court was told Buckle and Roseberry-Buckle had been visited by RSPCA officers responding to concerns for Daisy in July 2024, and were told to get help from a vet.

Following the visit, Buckle and Roseberry-Buckle took Daisy to an RSPCA clinic four times between July 2024 and November 2024, which led to some improvement in her condition, but did not address her issues fully, the court was told.

In mitigation, the court was told the owners had health conditions and financial problems, and that the dogs were "loved".

Buckle was found guilty of two offences and sentenced at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court on 22 July.

He was disqualified from owning all animals for 15 years, which he cannot appeal for 10 years. He was also given a 12-month community order and ordered to pay a £60 fine.

Roseberry-Buckle did not enter a plea but was convicted in her absence on the same date, and was given the same disqualification, along with a 12-month community order and a £60 fine.

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