Man given community service over dog neglect

A MAN has been given 150 hours of community service and banned from keeping animals for a year for the gross neglect of his dog.

Ian McHattie, 23, was sentenced at Peterhead Sheriff Court yesterday.

He was also ordered to pay £500 in compensation to the Scottish SPCA.

McHattie, from Peterhead, had pled guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to his Staffordshire bull terrier, named Gabby, by failing to provide adequate nutrition.

On visiting McHattie’s property in August 2011, a Scottish SPCA inspector found the one-year-old dog severely emaciated with no food or water available.

Inspector Fiona McKenzie said: “Following our investigation McHattie has been convicted of causing an animal unnecessary suffering and now has a criminal record. A one-year ban on keeping animals has been imposed and, as a result, Gabby will not be returned to his care”