A pet owner has been banned from keeping animals for a year for starving and grossly neglecting his dog.

Ian McHattie was given 150 hours community service and ordered to pay an animal welfare charity £500 in compensation when he appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court on Thursday.

The one-year-old dog, named Gabby, was found weighing half her ideal weight.

The 23-year-old, formerly of the town’s Prunier Place, had previously pled guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to his female Staffordshire bull terrier, named Gabby, by failing to provide adequate nutrition.

An inspector from the Scottish SPCA who visited McHattie's property in August 2011, found the one-year-old dog in a “severe state of emaciation” and with no food or water available.

Fiona McKenzie, Scottish SPCA inspector, said although the charity accepted the court's decision, it would have supported a life-long ban for McHattie.

She said: "Following our investigation McHattie has been convicted of causing an animal unnecessary suffering and now has a criminal record.

"A one-year ban on keeping animals has been imposed and as a result Gabby will not be returned to his care.

"While we have to accept the decisions of the courts, given the nature of this case we would have supported a life ban.

"Poor Gabby was in a horrendous state of emaciation, weighing under 9kgs when a dog of her breed and age should be around 16kgs.

"McHattie failed to provide her with the diet she needed and there is no doubt Gabby suffered a great deal. When I offered her water she drank so fast I feared she would make herself sick.

"Thankfully, Gabby has since recovered in our care and we can now find her the loving home she deserves."