Man sentenced after dog and eight puppies found 'chronically underfed' rescued from bathtub

A man has been sentenced after a female dog and her eight malnourished puppies were rescued from a flat in Edinburgh.

Keenan Watson pled guilty to three charges at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and was sentenced to 90 hours of unpaid work.

He was also handed 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.

He admitted to causing unnecessary suffering to one adult dog and eight puppies 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 (SSPCA) in 2023.

Dog and eight puppies found 'chronically underfed' rescued from bathtub — Dog and eight puppies found ‘chronically underfed’ rescued from bathtub Scottish SPCA

An SSPCA Inspector attended a property in Pilton in March 2023 after calls were received to the charity’s helpline of dogs heard yelping from within.

Watson was given advice on a suitable feeding schedule for the dogs and advised to seek veterinary attention.

An inspector is said to have told Watson that they would return in a week to follow up, but was unable to reach him despite repeated attempts.

When Watson made contact, he is said to have left an abusive message with the SSPCA helpline for the Inspector.

A warrant was executed by the SSPCA and Police Scotland in April 2023, and the nine now rescued dogs were discovered in the bathtub with the shower running.

A dog cage in the living room of the property 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 eight and nine weeks, 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”.

One puppy was said to be 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 SSPCA Inspector.

SSPCA Inspector Fiona Thorburn said: “We are pleased with the outcome and the court’s decision.

“Keenan Watson failed to follow the advice that had been given to him and left an abusive message with the SSPCA helpline.

“He repeatedly failed to engage with the SSPCA and was given the opportunity to seek vet advice or remedy his female dog’s 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.”