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Borders man convicted of dog neglect

Following a Scottish SPCA investigation a Borders man has been convicted of causing his dog unnecessary suffering by failing to provide him with enough food.

Martin Daniel Alexander, 20, of Ettrick Road, Selkirk, was ordered to give up ownership of his Belgian shepherd, Mack, after he admitted the offence at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Tuesday (24 July). He was also given 100 hours community service.

We were alerted to Mack’s condition in December 2011 after a local vet spotted Alexander walking his dog in Galalshiels and was concerned by his extremely thin appearance.

The vet offered to provide Alexander with free veterinary and dietary advice if he brought the dog to his clinic. Although Alexander did this initially, he ignored the advice he was given to increase Mack’s food and failed to appear at follow up appointments as requested by the vet.

We removed Mack from Alexander in February 2012 when the dog weighed only 18.2kg. After seven weeks of being fed a normal diet in the charity’s care Mack weighed a much healthier 29.2kg.

Senior Inspector Jenny Scott said, "We are pleased that Alexander admitted causing his dog unnecessary suffering and we are relieved that Mack has now been signed over into our care.

"It’s sad and frustrating that Mack suffered through a basic lack of feeding as this was entirely avoidable and easily remedied.

"Thankfully he quickly gained weight in our kennels following a simple feeding regime."