Arbroath woman receives a two-year ban and 90 hours of community payback following Scottish SPCA investigation.

27-year-old Susan Louise Strachan of Rossie Street, Arbroath, pled guilty to failing to provide veterinary treatment for three of her four animals at Forfar Sheriff Court on 17 February 2022.

Inspector, Karen Cooper, said, “Strachan is well known to the Scottish SPCA. We have visited on several occasions to provide her with guidance and advice.

“On 3 August 2020, we executed a warrant to enter the property.

“Raven, a four-year-old black cat, was on the cupboard tops. She had obviously suffered from excessive hair loss as three quarters of her fur was shorter, stubby and discoloured. She also had numerous scabby lesions around her neck.

“Strachan then brought her two female Jack Russell terriers out one by one from the bedroom. 16-year-old Lady was very thin with obvious hair loss and red inflamed skin on her back end. Five-year-old Pippa was practically bald on her back end with obvious red scabs over her back and thickened dry skin around her eyes. Both were considerably underweight and suffering from dental disease.

“Her final animal, an entire male cat named Bandit, was in good bodily condition and was the only animal that did not need veterinary treatment.

“The skin conditions suffered by the three animals are consistent with flea allergic dermatitis, a skin condition which is triggered by an allergy to flea bites. This would have been itchy and uncomfortable, causing the animals to scratch and over-groom which led to the skin becoming infected.

“We are pleased Strachan has pled guilty and received a ban. We have been unable to rehome Pippa, Raven and Bandit for 20 months because Strachan refused to sign her animals over to the Scottish SPCA, but now that she has pled guilty, we can finally find them loving forever homes. Unfortunately, the older dog, Lady, had to be put to sleep in December 2020."