‘Nothing was done on purpose’

YVONNE McAllister said she couldn’t afford to take Bobby to the vet and ‘nothing was done on purpose’.

Representing herself at the sentencing hearing, she said: “I just didn’t have the money for him.

“I was just living on my wage. There was no way I could afford a vet.

“I have always had animals. Nothing was done on purpose.

“If I had the money I would have taken him. We tried to look after him ourselves but it didn’t work.”

Deputy District Judge Steven Jonas gave credit to McAllister for her early guilty plea and no previous convictions but warned her actions could have led to a 12-week jail sentence.

He told her there was a ‘high degree of fault’ with Bobby suffering for a ‘prolonged period of time’ and the harm cause is ‘greatest where the animal dies as a result’.

He said: “You have not acted deliberately. You have acted negligently and that has put yourself in danger of going to prison.”