American Bulldog put down after being neglected to 'abnormal' state by owner

A dog that was neglected to an “abnormal” state by its owner had to be put down.

The American Bulldog named Boss was handed to vets, having lost 41% of its weight within two years.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that the matter was reported to the Scottish SPCA in January 2025.

Boss’ former owner, Ciaran Connelly, 23, appeared in court having pleaded guilty to neglecting the dog between November 2024 and January 2025.

Boss was stated to be in a “weak” and “poor” condition.

His body condition was assessed to be one out of nine, and Boss’ bones were “clearly visible.”

This included his ribs and spinal vertebrae.

Prosecutor Jason Black added: “There was minimal amounts of muscle covering the bones.

“It was noted that this was abnormal for any canine.”

The fiscal depute reported that Boss was weighed 29 kilograms in February 2023 but was assessed to be 17 kilograms at the time of the report to the SPCA.

Mr Black said: “This is a 41% loss of his body weight.”

The fiscal depute confirmed that the dog was put down, having been found to have suffered from malnutrition.

Des Ziolo, defending, told the court that his client was going through mental health issues at the time but has since returned to work as a delivery driver.

Sheriff Allan Mckay ordered Connelly, of the city’s Govan, to do 150 hours of unpaid work, placed him under supervision and disqualified him from owning animals for one year.

The sheriff said: “This is a very serious situation, and I will accept your explanation at face value.

“It appears you did care for this dog at some point, but it appears you lost the ability…but the dog paid the ultimate price.

“It is a horrible thing to happen.”