Dog owner who abandoned pet for a week banned from owning pets

Dog owner, 19, who left his Cane Corso cross named Blade tied to a coat hook without food or water for more than a week while he was in hospital is banned from owning pets for 10 years

• Nicholas Kengere, 19, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the dog
• The teen also admitted a charge of failing to ensure the dog was cared for 

A teenage dog owner who left his Cane Corso cross tied to a coat hook without food or water for more than a week while he was in hospital is banned from keeping pets for 10 years, a court has ruled.

Nicholas Kengere, 19, left his one-year-old dog Blade in his hallway while he suffered with a chronic B12 deficiency during an unplanned hospital stay in December last year.

His neighbours on Capstone Road in Bromley, greater London reported that the dog had been abandoned prompting RSPCA officers to attend the property.

Blade was found to be undernourished for multiple weeks, standing in his own faeces and had suffered an eye condition that required surgical intervention.

Kengere admitted a charge of causing unnecessary suffering and a charge of failing to ensure the dog was cared for to an adequate standard. 

He was given a suspended prison sentence, a community order and told to pay costs at a sentencing hearing at Bromley Magistrates’ Court yesterday. He was also banned from owning pets for a decade.

A one-year-old Cane Corso cross called Blade was left tied to a coat hook without food or water for multiple weeks, a court heard

Nicholas Kengere, 19, (pictured) left the dog in his hallway while he suffered with a chronic B12 deficiency during an unplanned hospital stay in December last year.

Prosecutor Andrew Wiles told the court that Kengere left Blade ‘tethered in the stairwell with no bedding, no clean resting area and no access to toileting facilities’ while he was in hospital. 

One of Kengere’s friends let the officers inside where they found a dog that was very thin, with bones visible, standing in his own faeces. 

The dog was tethered in a stairway covered in excrement with no food or water for a period of time between 27 December 2022 and 24 January 2023, the court heard.

Blade was seized by police on January 24 and taken by RSPCA rescuers to the RSPCA Finsbury Park Animal Hospital.

A vet who assessed Blade rated his body condition as two on a scale of one to nine. They said the dog was 50 per cent underweight and had no palpable body fat.

The vet’s opinion was that Blade had likely been undernourished for two to three weeks or longer.

Blade also had red lumps in his eyes, known as cherry eye, which is a swelling of the eyelids and required surgical intervention.

RSPCA officers placed seals on Kengere’s door to see when he returned home but these were still unbroken on January 26.

Officers made contact with Kengere on February 8 and he was interviewed.

His neighbours on Capstone Road in Bromley, greater London reported that the dog had been abandoned prompting RSPCA officers to attend the property. Blade was found to be undernourished for multiple weeks and standing in his own faeces (pictured)

Blade also had red lumps in his eyes, known as cherry eye, (pictured) which is a swelling of the eyelids and required surgical intervention

Mr Wiles said: ‘He said he had been in hospital for a week before the RSPCA attended and that he tethered the dog to stop it from going into the bins in the kitchen.

‘He admitted the dog was probably suffering and that it was his fault.’

At his sentencing hearing yesterday, Kengere was given a 12-week prison sentence suspended for a year and a half.

He was handed a community order including a 20 day rehabilitation programme and told to pay £250 in costs.

He was also banned from keeping pets for a decade and he cannot apply for the disqualification to be lifted until at least 2030.

Speaking after sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Hariet Daliday said: ‘If you are struggling with medical issues and have to leave your pet for an extended period of time, please ensure they have appropriate care to attend to their welfare needs.

‘It’s unfair on the pet and can lead to prosecution if their needs are not met. We’re grateful we managed to rescue Blade before his condition deteriorated even further.’

Blade was also confiscated from him and is now in RSPCA care.

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