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26
Sept 2022
Harrogate dogs seek new homes after shocking cruelty
The RSPCA has said that two dogs who were so thin their ribs were protruding when police seized them are now healthy and seeking new homes.
Rocco, a mastiff, and Smudge, a lurcher, were taken from a home in Harrogate when Robbie Nelson refused to sign them over to the animal welfare charity last year.
A vet who examined the dogs concluded both animals were malnourished.
He gave Rocco a one out of nine score on a body condition test, which is classed as a state of emaciation, while Smudge scored two out of nine.
Robbie Nelson, 24, of Woodfield View, was banned from keeping animals for five years when he appeared in court in July.
Read more:
- Harrogate man banned from keeping animals after cruelty case
- Malnourished dogs found in Harrogate flat covered in faeces and urine
- Harrogate man banned from keeping animals for five years
His brother Charlie Nelson, 28, of Woodfield View, Harrogate, was also disqualified from owning pets for five years when he was sentenced this month.
RSPCA inspector Tom Hutton found the dogs underweight and living in accommodation littered with household waste, scrap bikes and dog faeces when he was called out by police to a flat on Starbeck High Street on March 18, 2021.
The flat was covered in dog faeces.
The RSPCA said today that under its care, Rocco and Smudge have returned to a healthy weight and condition and the charity will "now look to find them loving new owners".
Inspector Hutton said:
Rocco (left) and Smudge now, looking healthy and seeking new homes.
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