RSPCA: Dog ban for man who left Belgian shepherd mum to suffer with infected leg wounds after losing pups

Warning: Story contains graphic photos and content which may be upsetting to some readers.

A South Yorkshire man has been banned from keeping dogs for ten years after failing to get timely vet care for his dog's horrific leg injuries - which vets say were dripping with pus.

Two-year-old Deli, a Belgian Shepherd-type dog, had with extensive scratches and bites on all four limbs and infected wounds on her front legs which had been present for at least several days. She had also reportedly given birth to a litter of puppies just days before, which had all sadly died.

Her owner, 34-year-old Yasser Hussain, has now been sentenced at Sheffield Magistrates Court for causing unnecessary suffering to Deli by failing to get her vet care when she needed it, after earlier admitting one offence under Animal Welfare Act. As well as his dog ban, Hussain was also given an 18-month community order requiring 120 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity days, and ordered to pay court costs of £750.

The court heard how Hussain had taken his injured dog, who he described as being “off her legs,” to a PDSA clinic in Sheffield in June 2022. The vet was concerned for her welfare, and called the RSPCA. In a written statement to the court, the charity’s Deputy Chief Inspector Sara Jordan said she met thebadly injured dog at the clinic a few days later. 

“I could see that she had extensive wounds on both front legs - notably a large open wound to her right foreleg and an open, draining abscess to the armpit region of her left foreleg," she said. “She was on pain relief and antibiotics and had a lot of criss-cross scratches and bite wounds to all limbs, which had been exposed when the vets shaved her to treat the larger wounds."

The vet said Deli was likely to suffer if her circumstances didn’t change, and she was taken into police possession. Hussain told the RSPCA that four days before he took Deli to the vet, she was fine - jumping up at him and playing. He said she then gave birth at his Rotherham property, and at that point he noticed the wound on her right foreleg.

But the vet who examined Deli at the PDSA said she was underweight, and it looked like this had not been her first litter of puppies. Her fur was matted with pus over her entire body, they said. “The left forelimb was very swollen and purulent material was dripping down it. Several wounds were visible over all four limbs, not all fresh."

The dog had to be unconscious to examine her largest wound, the vet set. “I believe Deli was caused unnecessary pain and suffering by not having these wounds treated earlier, for this degree of swelling and purulent material these particular wounds had been present for several days most likely. All limbs, once clipped, showed wounds which appeared to be even older than the deep wounds present on the forelimbs.” 

In mitigation the court heard that Hussain had since rehomed another dog he owned, and he did eventually recognise that Deli needed veterinary intervention - albeit quite late.

Deli, who was signed over to the RSPCA by Hussain during the course of the investigation, has since made a full recovery and been happily rehomed.