A JOHNSTONE man who starved his dog over a four-month period has dodged prison and been banned from keeping animals.
Jonathan Irwin, 26, failed to provide his pet Keisha with enough food or water between September last year and January this year.
His neglect of the dog caused it to become emaciated.
Irwin, of Maple Drive, originally faced two charges of neglecting two dogs – Keisha and Buddy Love.
But a charge that he had also failed to provide Buddy Love with “appropriate and adequate nutrition whereby said dog lost weight and muscle mass” was dropped in an agreed plea with prosecutors.
He pleaded guilty to neglecting Keisha, in breach of Section 19(2) of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, at a hearing at Paisley Sheriff Court earlier this year.
When Irwin returned to the dock last Monday to learn his fate Sheriff Robert Fife placed him on a Community Payback Order, requiring him to complete 200 hours’ unpaid work over the next nine months and banned him from keeping all animals for the next three years.
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