AN ANDOVER woman has been fined £80 for breaking a community order which was given to her after she was found to have neglected her pet terrier.

Rachel Chelsea Robb, of Rhodes Square, admitted failing to meet the requirements of a community order by missing two separate days of unpaid work without a reasonable excuse.

Robb was slapped with a fine of £80 and court costs of £50, which will be paid through a benefit deduction.

The 28-year-old was given the order back in April after her and David Wells, of Admirals Way, appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court for causing ‘unnecessary suffering’ to their pet male terrier, named ‘Rusty’.

Rusty was approximately half his ideal weight when he was rescued, at just 5.9kg, was covered in fleas with maggots between his toes.

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Inspector Will Hendry said Rusty collapsed shortly after he was found last August, in a back garden in Cricketers Way.

Mr Hendry said: “Rusty had been kept outside and collapsed almost as soon as I saw him. If he had been left there for another 24 hours I'm not sure he would have survived.

“He was signed over straight away and I managed to get him to a vet and then into the RSPCA's care. Within two months he weighed 12.85kg, which is a normal weight and more than twice what he was when I found him.

“The saddest thing was that there were other animals at the property that appeared to have been properly fed. It was just Rusty that had been neglected.”

The couple were banned for keeping dogs for five years and sentenced to 120 hours of community service for the offence.

Wells, 30, was ordered to pay £500 in costs while Robb was ordered to pay £250.

The pair initially claimed they had given Rusty to a friend and he was returned to them in an emaciated state.

They later admitted causing Rusty unnecessary suffering and failing to provide him with a proper diet and treatment for his flea infestation, in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Rusty was successfully re-homed with new owners earlier this year.