Drunk Dog Owner Leaves Pet With Cigarette Burns, Inability To Open Mouth

In a case of animal cruelty, a drunk dog owner was found guilty Tuesday of leaving her pet with cigarette burns.

A U.K. court heard that an official with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) arrived at the home after receiving reports of a dog in “poor health.” When the official tried entering the home to take a look at the canine, the drunk owner, identified as 38-year-old Nicola Poppleton, started a fight with him.

"The officer noticed there were a number of lesions consistent with cigarette burns. There was muscle wastage to his head and he could barely open his jaw. The inspector tried to speak to the defendant, who was drunk,” prosecutor Stewart Haywood told the court, adding that after further talks, the owner allowed the official to take away the dog.

The official immediately rushed the canine to a nearby animal hospital. The vets told him the canine had been suffering for over three months. The dog couldn’t regulate the body temperature and wasn’t able to open its mouth completely despite being given pain killers by the vets. The canine was also suffering from an ear infection which could be because of the injuries consistent with "cigarette burns."

The dog’s owner did not appear in court Tuesday, however, all the charged against her were proved and an arrest warrant was issued against her. The incidents reportedly took place between January and April this year and the present condition of the dog was not known.

In a similar incident in the U.K. earlier this month, a pet dog was euthanized after its owners did not treat its broken leg. The officials with the RSPCA arrived at the scene after receiving reports of a sick dog at a home. The officials found the canine in a horrible condition with decaying teeth and a broken leg. The officials rushed the canine to a nearby animal hospital after “the family were very reluctant” to treat it. However, the dog had to be put down because of the untreatable dental infection.