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A Swansea Valley man has been disqualified from keeping animals for 10 years after he took the emaciated body of his dog to a vet.

Matthew Edward Perry, 39, of Parc Gilbertson, Pontadarwe, pleaded guilty to one offence under the Animal Welfare Act and was sentenced at Swansea Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, June 3.

He admitted failing to ensure the needs of Pepper - a 13-year-old Dalmatian - were met in that he failed to protect her from pain, suffering, injury or disease by failing to investigate or address poor or underweight body condition. He also failed to provide prompt and necessary veterinary treatment for the abscess on her left jawbone.

The court heard that Pepper’s body was taken to a veterinary practice on August 25 last year for cremation and concerns of the condition of the dog were raised.

In a written statement from the vet at the practice, they said they were “very concerned by her poor condition” and that she was “emaciated with her ribs, spine and hip bones prominent”.

The vet added that she also showed signs of muscle loss and gave Pepper a body condition score of one out of nine, where four to five is considered normal, with lower scores indicating underweight and higher scores indicating overweight.

The vet said: “In this body condition she will have broken down muscle mass and will have been weak and uncomfortable, affecting her ability to exhibit natural behaviour.

“The dog also had a wound on her left maxilla (upper jawbone) which appeared to be a burst (and untreated) abscess. An abscess generally throbs and is tender to the touch due to the pressure of the pus buildup and would have been painful.”

It was estimated that Pepper would have “been suffering for a minimum of three weeks”.

The vet confirmed that Pepper had not been seen by the practice since 2018.

As well as being disqualified from keeping all animals for 10 years he was also sentenced to three months of custody which was suspended for 12 months, and handed a community order for one year with 15 Rehabilitation Activity Required days and £400 costs.

Following sentencing, RSPCA Deputy Chief Inspector Gemma Cooper, said: “We’d like to thank the veterinary practice for their assistance here in what must have been an upsetting incident to deal with.

“All animals deserve to be treated with kindness and should have their needs met.”