Retired Shropshire vet banned from keeping animals after dogs found in squalor
A retired vet from Shropshire who treated his own dog with "bizarre" medication has been banned from keeping or being involved with animals for 10 years.
Charles John Spicer, 72, who admitted he had a lifestyle that seemed peculiar or incomprehensible to others, with no electricity or running water in his home in Old Whittington Road, Gobowen, scavenged for items ranging from medication to bottles of water.
He had denied four charges under the Animal Welfare Act but was found guilty of two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to two collie dogs, Puppy and Little Boy and one of not providing veterinary attention to Puppy. A fourth charge was withdrawn. Spicer admitted not providing the proper hygienic environment for the dogs.
During the trial at Shrewsbury Magistrates Court, two police officers told of the squalor they found when entering the house after concerns about the dogs were raised with the RSPCA.
Puppy was discovered under bags of rubbish, with so little hair it was unrecognisable as a dog. It had three slipped discs, a ruptured cruciate ligament and a skin condition and had to be put down soon after being taken from the house.
The other dog was suffering from mange.
Spicer, 72, told Shrewsbury Magistrates Court that he used human antibiotics on Puppy, as well as Vitamin A, zinc and aspirin. He also gave him a marine supplement because as a Great Dane cross breed its ancestors would have had eaten a lot of fish. Spicer admitted scavenging in bins for items like medicines and also clearing out friends' medicine cupboards.
But he said that he had been told in veterinary college that animals could be treated with human antibiotics.
Mr Paul Taylor, for the RSPCA, said that for the last 20 years it had been illegal to prescribe human medicines for animals and said that Spicer was completely out of date with his knowledge.
Spicer told the court that the zinc and the aspirin that he gave to the dog was the right treatment.
"Aspirin is more than adequate as an anti-inflammatory," he said.
"I believe many treatments are destructive rather than constructive."
"I am not happy that the dog looked like it did – it was repugnant to me. However, people do not know how agonising it can be to assess a dog's condition from day to day."
After the case, Inspector Vicki Taylor, of the RSPCA, said: "It is very sad in this case that an animal suffered in a way which could have been prevented."
