Dog starved to death outside Eastern Avenue East, Romford house

A man has avoided jail after he left a dog to starve to death while tied to a tree in Romford. 

On December 28 last year, a caller told the RSPCA a dead bull breed dog was roped to a tree outside a bungalow in Eastern Avenue East. 

An animal rescue officer found the dog lying on a blanket half in a roofless plastic dog kennel, outside of which was an empty bowl and another with a small amount of water in it. 

A vet who examined the dead dog said he was around a year old, weighed less than three stone and was in an emaciated state with a parasitic infection. 

The vet said: “While some of the dog’s poor body condition may be attributed to the parasitic worms, they on their own would not have caused that degree of emaciation, which leads to the conclusion that the dog lacked suitable nutrition for a prolonged period of weeks. 

“The dog was tethered to a tree without access to adequate shelter or a dry resting area during the month of December.” 

Mohamed Amine Chenouf, 30, previously of Hartshorn Gardens in East Ham, was identified as being responsible for the dog.  

RSPCA officers made enquiries at a nearby address in Romford where Chenouf had reportedly moved to. 

However, the animal charity said attempts to contact him were unsuccessful until February when police seized another dog from the address – a brindle-coloured bulldog with cropped ears. 

Chenouf then claimed he had not been living at the address and that the dead dog in Eastern Avenue East was not his. 

He claimed that his friend had agreed to look after the dog but failed to do so, and the dog later died from eating a rat. 

The dog was left outside a bungalow in Eastern Avenue East, Romford (Image: RSPCA) Chenouf pleaded guilty to one offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. 

At Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on November 7 he was given a 16-week sentence suspended for one year. 

He was also banned from keeping animals for ten years. 

Speaking after the sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Shahnaz Ahmad said: “This poor dog was left outside to starve without access to food and water during the mid winter and the owner failed to take any responsibility for him, including failing to provide basic veterinary care that would have prevented the parasite infection and explored his loss of weight.”