Edinburgh man sentenced after dog and 8 pups found significantly malnourished in bathtub
An Edinburgh man has been sentenced after a dog and eight puppies were found significantly malnourished in Pilton.
Keenan Watson pled guilty to three charges at Edinburgh Sheriff Court when he admitted to causing the dogs unnecessary suffering by failing to provide an adequate diet or veterinary care.
In April 2023, the Scottish SPCA and police executed a warrant at his address where they rescued the nine dogs which were discovered in the bathtub with the shower running. Officers found a dog cage in the living room that contained one puppy pad which was heavily soiled with urine and faeces. There was no other bedding provided.
Watson was sentenced to 90 hours of unpaid work, a 13-week restriction of liberty order between the hours of 7pm and 7am and a five-year ban from owning, keeping and controlling all animals.
Scottish SPCA inspector Fiona Thorburn said: “We are pleased with the outcome and the court’s decision. Keenan Watson failed to follow the advice that had been given to him and left an abusive message with the Scottish SPCA Helpline.
“He repeatedly failed to engage with the Scottish SPCA and was given the opportunity to seek vet advice or remedy his female dogs poor body condition after our initial visit but instead continued to chronically underfeed his dogs.“Issuing a ban on custody of animals is the only way to ensure this does not happen to any other animals.”
The animal charity first received calls about the dogs in March 2023 after dogs were heard yelping from within the property, prompting the SSPCA to monitor Watson and the dogs for one month.
Watson was given advice on a suitable feeding schedule for the dogs and advised to seek veterinary attention. The inspector told Watson that they would return in a week to follow up but was unable to reach him despite repeated attempts. When Watson finally made contact, he left an abusive message with the Scottish SPCA helpline for the inspector.
Heart murmurs and no visible body fat
The adult dog and her eight pups, aged between just eight and nine weeks old, were taken for an urgent veterinary examination. The five-year-old Crossbreed dog was categorised by a vet as emaciated with no visible body fat, bald patches and multiple bones visible. The vet concluded that mum and all of her litter were of an unacceptably low body condition score of just one out of nine.
One pup was suffering from such a significant underbite that his teeth were causing trauma to his lower palate. Others were found to have heart murmurs, an umbilical hernia and swollen abdomens. The vet established that Watson had failed to provide an adequate diet for his pets and failed to seek veterinary care, despite being advised to by a Scottish SPCA inspector.
Calls for a national animal offenders register
The Scottish SPCA is calling for a national animal offenders register to be built into existing intelligence systems to support monitoring of individuals convicted of animal cruelty - particularly those banned from owning animals to flag offenders like Watson.
The offenders register would also help address the well-established link between those who harm animals and those who go on to harm humans.
The charity continues to urge the public to remain vigilant and report any suspected cruelty on the Scottish SPCA website.