AMONG the cases of animal cruelty to come before the courts last year were that of Soldier and Amber.

Soldier's story

WITH barely any flesh left on his body and his fur falling out, starving Soldier looked like his days were numbered.

The emaciated Alsatian cross, weighing just half of his body weight, was discovered by shocked New Forest RSPCA inspector Patrick Bailey.

Soldier came close to death, his body measuring just a couple of inches across at its narrowest. Fortunately he was rescued just in time and his cruel owner was banned from keeping dogs for ten years, fined £150 and ordered to pay £750 court costs.

Soldier, pictured above, now weighs 42kg and is looking for a loving new home after being nursed back to health at the RSPCA’s centre in Ashley Heath, near Ringwood.

Mr Bailey said: “Soldier was the skinniest dog I have ever seen that has survived. He was skin and bone. His coat was matted in mud and faeces and, when I tried to stroke him, my hand disappeared into his fur. As a testament to Soldier’s character he has always been a happy and confident dog.

“He lived with two other dogs in a pen outside; their owner claimed the others ate all the food. ”

Amber's story

ONE of the most recent RSPCA convictions in Dorset involved an elderly dog called Amber who had been so badly neglected she had to immediately be put to sleep.

Unemployed Kevin Rolfe, 47, from Pear Close, Poole was banned from keeping dogs for five years after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to the terrier cross between October 10 and November 19 last year.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard how Amber had been the victim of “gross neglect.” She was dirty, matted, covered in warts and suffering from eye and ear infections.

A shocked vet who examined her said he had never seen a dog’s teeth in such poor condition, see below, describing her as “weak, disorientated and in chronic pain.”

She was discovered in a dirty, urine-soaked condition. He admitted that he had not taken Amber to the vet because of her age.

Imposing an eight week prison sentence, suspended for a year and a three-month electronically monitored curfew, Judge Roger Jarvis described Amber as “a poor and wretched animal.”