A Manchester woman has been handed a suspended prison sentence and disqualified from keeping all animals after abandoning her pets and leaving them without care, food or water for more than five days. Elisha Gordon (DOB: 06/12/1984), of Stash Grove, Wythenshawe. Manchester, was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Thursday 16 November. She pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a female shar pei dog by failing to investigate and address the causes of her poor bodily condition and weight loss. The dog was so emaciated that sadly she was found dead in a locked room when the RSPCA arrived. Cats and dogabandoned.mp4 She also pleaded guilty to failing to provide a suitable environment, adequate care and supervision, and failing to provide an appropriate diet and fresh drinking water for her four cats and one dog. Sadly, one of the cats was also found dead. Chief inspector for Manchester Nina Small said: "We were alerted by a member of the public that there could be abandoned pets inside the premises. We attended and became concerned when it became clear that no owner was returning to look after their pets. We posted food through the letterbox and contacted Greater Manchester Police for assistance who gave us access to the property." The case comes as new statistics from the RSPCA confirm incidents of animal abandonment are at a three-year high - with the charity expected to receive more than 21,400 reports about abandoned animals this year. Inspector Jessica Araurjo, who investigated, entered the dirty and rubbish strewn house in Wythenshaw on 6 June. She found three cats on the hallway stairs, two grey and white and one black and white. When she placed them in the cat carriers, she noted that she could feel their ribs and spine protruding outwards when she picked them up. Sadly, she then found one dead shar pei type dog locked in a back room and a dead black and white cat in an upstairs bedroom. The three surviving cats were taken into the charity's care for treatment. The court heard how the vet report stated that the animals had been left alone for at least five days. A postmortem on the female shar pei dog also confirmed that she was in an emaciated body condition weighing just 9kg (approx 20lb) - when the average weight for a female shar pei dog is around 18-25kg (approx 40lb to 55lb). There were also signs of serous wastage to her bone marrow which is an indicator of emaciation. There was no dog food found in her stomach but there were pieces of plastic detected. It is unknown whether she ate this due to her starvation or whether this caused a blockage and resulted in starvation but the report stated: "Irrespective of the cause of emaciation, it would have been obvious to an observer that this dog was significantly underweight. This should have been recognised by the person responsible for her welfare and veterinary advice sought. Failure to do so resulted in her suffering." The magistrates in the case all agreed that this was a case of "frightening and horrendous" suffering and reached the threshold for custody. Gordon was therefore sentenced to two 16 week suspended sentences for 24 months, to run concurrently. She was also sentenced to 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and was banned from keeping all animals for five years. She was also ordered to pay costs of £154 to be deducted from benefits. Nina added: "This was a horrible and distressing case which resulted in the death of two poor animals and could have so easily been avoided had the owner arranged for alternative care for them. This total disregard for their welfare meant that they would have suffered considerably whilst locked in that house on their own." The other cats were all found loving forever homes.
