Edinburgh man Alistair Stuart convicted of puppy neglect
An Edinburgh man who neglected his puppy, which had brain damage, has been banned from keeping dogs for four years and fined £1,000.
Alistair Stuart, 36, was sentenced at the city's sheriff court on Thursday.
Stuart pled guilty to failing to provide necessary veterinary attention for his five-month-old Yorkshire terrier puppy named Angel.
He broke the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. The puppy had to be put down by a vet.
Insp June Chalcroft, of the Scottish SPCA, said: "We were contacted after Angel was taken to a vets suffering from a prolonged and sustained seizure.
"She was in an extremely bad way and had clinical signs of brain damage and, sadly, the vet had no option but to put her to sleep as she would not have recovered.
"The vet concluded that Angel had endured suffering as a result of Stuart's failure to provide earlier veterinary attention."
She added: "During questioning, Stuart admitted being aware that Angel was extremely unwell and that he should have taken her to a vets sooner and we are very disappointed the court has not issued a life ban on keeping all animals.
"In our opinion, this is the only way to prevent any other animals suffering under Stuart's care."