County Durham couple avoid jail after leaving dog to starve to death
Last updated 1st May 2025
A couple from Darlington have been banned from keeping animals for 10 years and handed a suspended prison sentence after they left their dog to starve to death in a filthy makeshift kennel.
Nathan Thomas Pyle (DOB: 15/7/2001) and Shannon Adam (DOB: 28/5/2003), both of Thomas Court, Darlington, have been sentenced for causing unnecessary suffering to their female Malinois dog called Midnight.
Midnight, aged one, was living in a small makeshift kennel in their garden which was covered in impacted faces, stale food and bread. Her emaciated body was then found in a black bin bag and left outside their home.
An RSPCA spokesperson said: “This is a really tragic case which resulted in the unnecessary death of this poor dog. There is absolutely no excuse for letting your pet get into this state and it’s hard to imagine what poor Midnight must’ve been through.”
The RSPCA was first contacted about Midnight in September 2023 after the charity had received reports of a skinny dog living in unsuitable conditions in the garden.
Over the course of a few months, various officers repeatedly tried to see Midnight and were either refused by the owners or could not gain access to the property as no one was in.
In October 2023, Inspector Stephanie Baines, was given access to the back garden and able to see Midnight who, at that time, was in a good body condition and appeared friendly, fit and well. The owner, Pyle, showed the inspector the small area where Midnight slept. The kennel was small with no light inside and no bedding. The inspector advised the owner that this was far too small and he agreed, explaining that he planned to build a large kennel and run for Midnight and that the only reason Midnight wasn’t in the house was because she was so excitable and his partner was eight months pregnant and she would jump up at her.
The inspector gave Pyle advice on clearing up the garden and giving Midnight an appropriate place to sleep and informed him that the charity would follow-up with him soon to check on progress.
Another officer attempted to see Midnight again but was greeted with no answer and then in December 2023, Animal Rescue Officer Kristina Raine attended the property and spoke to Shannon Adam.
She said: “A female I now know to be Ms Shannon Adams appeared at an upstairs window holding a baby and told me the dog, Midnight, had been rehomed one week ago. I asked if I could come in to check the kennel, and she agreed and showed me through to the back garden. The garden was littered with rubbish, garden tools and food wrappers. There was a makeshift kennel falling to bits with various planks of wood nailed to it, with the words 'Nathan's bar’ on the front.
“Inside the kennel was filthy, wet and not weatherproof, the floor of the kennel was caked in faeces, stale food and bread. The floor was hard and frozen, temperatures had been sub zero the past few days. There was a plate with pieces of bread, an empty bowl and two wet blankets on top of the hard impacted faeces covering the kennel floor. She told me again, she had rehomed the dog to a friend of her mother’s who trained Malinois type dogs. I asked for contact details for the dog’s new owner as I would need to check her welfare as the conditions she had been living in here were a disgrace and completely unsuitable for a dog. She said she didn't know the details but would get them for me later today. I advised I would call her later for the details.
“Later that day, I returned to the property as we had received a call alleging the dog was dead amongst rubbish in the garden. Ms Adams answered the door and I put the allegation to her, and she broke down crying and admitted it was true. She told me Midnight had been ill and losing weight and they didn't know what to do, her partner Nathan Pyle had found Midnight dead and she was outside in a bin bag.
“The dog was completely emaciated, every bone in her body was visible. She had red open sores on the bottom of her feet and a dark coloured liquid coming from her back end.”
The court heard how the vet report concluded that “by allowing their dog to die of starvation and exposure, the owners are in violation of the Animal Welfare Act (2006). It is my opinion that the persons responsible for this dog have caused her unnecessary suffering.”
The report also confirmed that Midnight was in an emaciated body condition with significant muscle wastage and sunken eyes. She had lacerations on the pads of all four paws and had mud and dirt on her from being outside. A post-mortem examination confirmed the cause of death was starvation and exposure. There was no disease or condition that could account for her starvation except for inadequate nutrition. Her poor body condition would have interfered with her ability to regulate her body temperature, so being outside in the cold weather means that hypothermia had likely contributed to her death as well.
In mitigation, Nathan Pyle cited remorse and immaturity and Shannon Adam indicated that her partner was the carer for the dog. The pair pleaded guilty to two charges and were sentenced separately.
Shannon Adam was sentenced at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on 28 January 2025 to 18 weeks custody suspended for 24 months. She was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement Days. Costs of £720 and a £154 victim surcharge as well as being banned from keeping all animals for 10 years.
Nathan Pyle, now of Eglinton Road, Middlesbrough, was sentenced at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court on 9 April 2025 to 18 weeks custody suspended for two years, and he was also ordered to carry out 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement Days as well as 150 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay costs of £1,080 and a £154 victim surcharge and was also banned from keeping all animals for a decade.