A female dog and her eight malnourished puppies were all rescued from a flat in the Pilton area.
An Edinburgh man who allowed his dogs to become emaciated has been sentenced to 90 hours of unpaid work, a 13-week restriction of liberty order between the hours of 7pm and 7am and a five-year ban from owning, keeping and controlling all animals after he deprived the mother dog and her litter of puppies of veterinary care.
Earlier this year, Keenan Watson pled guilty to three charges at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. He admitted causing one adult dog and eight puppies unnecessary suffering by failing to provide an adequate diet or veterinary care.
Watson’s dogs were found to be significantly malnourished when they were rescued following a month of monitoring from the Scottish SPCA back in 2023.
Calls were received to the charity’s Helpline after dogs were heard yelping from within the property. A Scottish SPCA Inspector attended in March 2023
Watson was given advice on a suitable feeding schedule for the dogs and advised to seek veterinary attention. The Inspector told Watson that they would return in a week to follow up but was unable to reach him despite repeated attempts
When Watson finally made contact, he left an abusive message with the Scottish SPCA Helpline for the Inspector.
Discovered in the bathtub with the shower running
A warrant was executed by the Scottish SPCA and Police Scotland in April 2023 and the nine now rescued dogs were discovered in the bathtub with the shower running.
Prior to opening the door, Watson was seen wearing latex gloves and heard to be using a vacuum cleaner.
The dog cage in the living room contained one puppy pad which was heavily soiled with urine and faeces. There was no other bedding provided.
The adult dog and her eight puppies, aged between just eight and nine weeks old, were taken for an urgent veterinary examination. The five-year-old Crossbreed dog was categorised by a vet as emaciated with no visible body fat, bald patches and multiple bones visible. The vet concluded that mum and all of her litter were of an unacceptably low Body Condition Score of just 1/9.
Heart murmurs, an umbilical hernia and swollen abdomens
One puppy was suffering from such a significant underbite that his teeth were causing trauma to his lower palate. Others were found to have heart murmurs, an umbilical hernia and swollen abdomens.
The vet established that Watson had failed to provide an adequate diet for his pets and failed to seek veterinary care, despite being advised to by a Scottish SPCA Inspector.
Scottish SPCA Inspector Fiona Thorburn said: “We are pleased with the outcome and the court’s decision.
Continued to chronically underfeed his dogs
“Keenan Watson failed to follow the advice that had been given to him and left an abusive message with the Scottish SPCA Helpline. He repeatedly failed to engage with the Scottish SPCA and was given the opportunity to seek vet advice or remedy his female dogs poor body condition after our initial visit but instead continued to chronically underfeed his dogs.
“Issuing a ban on custody of animals is the only way to ensure this does not happen to any other animals.”
Calling for a national animal offenders register
The Scottish SPCA is calling for a national animal offenders register to be built into existing intelligence systems to support monitoring of individuals convicted of animal cruelty — particularly those banned from owning animals — and flag offenders like Watson. Importantly, it would also help address the well-established link between those who harm animals and those who go on to harm humans. Read our full manifesto here.
The charity continues to urge the public to remain vigilant and report any suspected cruelty on the our website here.
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