Liverpool man sentenced after flea-ridden dog found dead in box

Warning: This article contains distressing images.

A Liverpool man whose dog was found dead inside a box has banned from keeping animals for ten years.

The bull breed dog called Wilson was left without food and water at a property while his owner Aaron Thompson claimed a friend had been going in to look after the canine. Wilson’s ‘flea-ridden’ body was discovered in Thompson’s former home at Grange Street, Tuebrook, in November 2023.

Thompson, 38, now of September Road, Liverpool, was convicted of failing to meet the needs of the dog under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on February 12.

RSPCA Inspector Nadine Pengilly tracked Thompson down on January 26 last year. The defendant confirmed in a phone call from the inspector that Wilson was his dog. The inspector said Thompson told her that he worked away from home for three to four months at a time and “had a friend looking after Wilson”.

Wilson’s body was found by a housing association worker when he made a check on the property. The body, which was decomposing and covered in fleas, had been wrapped in a blanket and placed in a box in the lounge.

A vet said in her expert report: “Wilson’s body had slowly shut down and although in the absence of a post-mortem it is impossible to know the cause of death, being abandoned with no access to food or water is likely to have caused or contributed to his death.

“In this case I can’t be sure if water was provided or if food was provided intermittently, but it is likely the dog didn’t have any food or water for a minimum of two weeks and probably likely longer.”

Thompson failed to attend the court hearing and was convicted in his absence with the magistrates also handing him a 21-week prison sentence which they suspended for 12 months. As part of the suspended sentence order the defendant has to attend 15 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) days and he has to pay a victim surcharge of £154.

Speaking after the sentencing, Inspector Pengilly said: “This defendant tried to lay the blame for Wilson’s death on an unknown person in Latvia who he claimed was looking after the dog. He took no responsibility for the dog’s demise although he was living at his girlfriend’s property nearby.”