One of the worst examples of animal abuse he had ever seen, according to a horrified former vet nurse, involved finding a dog whose owner had abandoned it to die.

Rocky, age 10, was discovered by Mark Knight surrounded by mounds of his own excrement.

Mark said the Staffordshire Bull Terrier had so little left that his collar was hanging freely from his neck and he had lost his eyes.
Because of her callous behaviour, Carrie Hansford, the owner of Rocky, has since been prohibited from owning animals for a period of five years.

Mark was called as an animal handler to the Junction Road, Totton property on a warrant unrelated to the dog.

The stench that hit Mark as soon as he stepped onto the property was “overwhelming.”

At this point, alarm bells began to sound.

“The smell immediately indicated something was wrong and my thoughts straight away were that I was going to find something dead” , Mark said.

Mark went upstairs to investigate the first floor of the property before going back downstairs, where the scent was more intense.

He claimed: “I saw a tonne of dog poop as soon as I entered the kitchen—months and months’ worth.”

The malnourished puppy was on the floor and clearly dead when I happened to glance by the kitchen bench.

It was really upsetting.

“This is one of the worst cases I have encountered in the last ten years as an animal welfare officer and veterinarian together for six years.”

“It is evident the owner intended to leave the dog to die,” he continued. The dog would have had a chance if she had just asked for and received aid.

“Being confined behind a door without access to food or drink, he had no chance.

“Everywhere you looked, there were torn parcels. The dog had been looking for food and for some means of survival.

“My purpose as an animal warden is to ensure the well-being of animals.” That was a moment of pure emotion for me.

Hansford, 43, was given a four-month prison sentence suspended for a year at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. She was also ordered to perform 100 hours of unpaid labour and a ban.

Prior to this, Hansford, of Southampton’s Wickham Court, entered a guilty plea to two charges of inflicting needless suffering on a protected species.

The court was informed that Rocky, who weighed just 6.75 kg when he was discovered, had died a protracted, agonising death from malnutrition and dehydration.

His collar was horribly four times too big for him.

The duration of Rocky’s death is unknown, although Southampton Magistrates’ Court was previously informed that Hansford saw Rocky on December 17, 2022, the day of his passing, but left him there to decay.

She abandoned the family dog to live with her new partner, the court heard.

“I think the sentence is quite shocking, but she now has five years to reflect and hopefully not do anything like this again,” Mark stated in reference to the punishment she received.

“Dogs are completely reliant on their owners and to not provide for their needs is a breach of the law,” an RSPCA representative stated following the punishment.

“Key components of providing care are giving them food, water, and a decent place to live.

“The veterinarian emphasised that Rocky was deprived of food and water for an extended duration, and the agony he went through as a consequence is inconceivable.”