CHLOE MACKENZIE – SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

❌CHLOE MACKENZIE – SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS❌

Chloe Mackenzie, 28, from Tain, Easter Ross, Scottish Highlands IV19 – starved two dogs over three months.

Mackenzie pleaded guilty to animal welfare crimes in relation to a German Shepherd and a Boxer found in an emaciated condition at her home. She admitted failing to provide the unnamed female dogs with either an adequate diet or veterinary care.

In April 2024, Scottish SPCA investigatorsattended Mackenzie’s home with Police Scotland after receiving a tip-off.

The German Shepherd was found in poor body condition. One of the bedrooms in the property was described as having several piles of dog faeces on the floor.

The dog was removed and taken to a vet where she was found to be extremely underweight with no visible body fat.

The original complainant then told the Scottish SPCA that Mackenzie had hidden a second dog – the Boxer – in a cupboard and had bragged about doing so. The poor dog was apparently so weakened with hunger she had been unable to bark or make a noise to alert the Scottish SPCA investigators to her presence during their original visit.

Investigators returned to the property with police on warrant and found the Boxer in a severely emaciated state and struggling to walk. She was seized and taken to a vet, where she was given a body condition score of just one out of nine. Her bones were prominent through her fur and the nails on her front feet were overgrown, severely impacting her mobility.

The vet concluded that her poor condition was a result of chronic neglect and prolonged lack of nutrition. It was estimated that she had not been provided with an adequate diet for a period of at least three months.

Both dogs also had mild anaemia.

Speaking after the sentencing hearing, a Scottish SPCA Inspector said: “We consider this not just to be a case of wilful neglect, but of deliberate and callous cruelty.

“The deception displayed by the accused in hiding the Boxer on April 4 at the time of the Scottish SPCA and police visit only serves to demonstrate that Mackenzie had no intention in seeking to secure or improve upon her welfare.

“Had that been the case, they would have surrendered her to the Scottish SPCA at the time of the other dog’s removal from the property.

“Mackenzie boasting to others that she had hidden the Boxer from the Scottish SPCA is a worrying insight into the attitude of the accused towards any living creature, and the Scottish SPCA have serious concerns for any vulnerable life in her care in the future.

“Even the most inexperienced of dog owners are aware of their simple legal and moral duty to provide their animal with adequate nutrition, and a reasonable owner, at the first indication of weight loss in their animal, should address this, with either an increase in food, an examination by a veterinary surgeon, or both.

“The failure of the accused to do so, and the deception used to hide the Boxer, indicate to the Scottish SPCA that the starvation of the two dogs was a deliberate and calculated act.

“Both dogs have achieved significant weight gain since they have been in Scottish SPCA care, this having been achieved with nothing more than an adequate diet.”

£300 fine. Five-year ban on owning animals.