Life ban for Bristol woman who left her dogs to starve
Bruno and Aniyla were left locked inside and left to die
A Bristol woman has been banned from keeping animals for life after leaving her two dogs to starve to death after she moved out of her flat and left them behind.
Nicole Louise Cooper, 23, pleaded guilty to an animal welfare offence, following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.
Cooper, who had owned two dogs Bruno and Aniyla for three years from being eight weeks old, left them behind in her property in October 2024 and did not return.
On 13 December 2024, police attended the flat Cooper had been occupying at Molesworth Close. This was initially due to concerns for Cooper's welfare but instead the dogs were found dead inside the property.
RSPCA Inspector Dan Hatfield, who investigated for the charity, said: “The flat was a bedsit with the main room being just 10ft x 15 ft. In that room, as well as the bed, was a cage which was 2ft high and 3ft long which contained the body of Bruno, lying on his side.
“He had no eyes left and was covered in insects. His body was stuck to the matting in the cage. The cage itself would have been sufficient for him to be in for a short time - an hour or two - but no longer due to being so small.
“The second dog, Aniyla, was also dead and lying next to the cage - but outside of it, and also in a state of decay. Both dogs were thin and had overgrown claws.”
A vet, who examined their bodies, said the ultimate cause of death of the dogs would have been through dehydration and starvation leading to organ failure throughout the body.
In their report to the court the vet said the suffering they experienced prior to their deaths would have been “physically and mentally intense and extremely unpleasant” and described their passing as a “and a very inhumane way to die”.
Alongside the lifetime ban from owning animals, which she can not appeal for 15 years, she was also sentenced to one year’s custody, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out five Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) days and must pay £400 towards costs and a £187 victim surcharge.