Heartless Walsall dog owner banned from keeping animals for 10 years after assaulting RSPCA officer who saved his starving dog

The emaciated female cane corse Tokyo was found by RSPCA officers after neighbours raised the alarm about the skeletally thin dog. 

 Devon Jamal Tyreece Codrington, 23, of Gurney Road, Walsall, was found guilty of an animal welfare offence, following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.

The animal welfare charity had been contacted with reports of an underweight dog living in the rear garden of an address in Warwards Lane, Birmingham.

When RSPCA animal rescue officer Ash Moore attended the address Codrington tried to leave via the back door with Tokyo. He was also assaulted by Codrington. 

Officer Moore said: “I followed him attempting to get him to stop and talk to me regarding the dog but he just kept walking as if I wasn't there. He then turned around and shouted before he ran up towards me and took something out of his left inside coat pocket, which I believed to be a knife.

 “With the item in his hand, he has closed the gap between us before he has put the object back into his pocket. He then got closer towards me before making threats and walking away with Toyko.”

Tokyo was seized by police the following day. She had been living in a dirty and wet outdoor area with a shelter constructed from wooden crates and cardboard with no soft bedding or protection from hazards or poor weather conditions.

The vet who examined Tokyo at the time of her rescue said: “She had a body condition score of 1/9 meaning she was in poor body condition. Her ribs, lumbar vertebrae, pelvic bones and all bony prominences were evident from a distance, there was no discernable body fat and obvious loss of muscle mass. She weighed 25.2kg. A dog of her breed, age and sex should weigh at least 35kg.”

RSPCA inspector Ben Jones, who investigated for the charity, said: "Tokyo did not have her needs met due to her owner’s failure to provide a suitable diet, failure to provide a suitable environment, and as a result failure to protect from pain, suffering, injury and disease. A reasonable owner would provide an adequate diet and present their animal for veterinary assessment if they failed to gain or maintain a healthy weight.

“Owners also have a legal duty to make sure that they provide adequate protection from hazards by creating a comfortable, clean, dry, quiet, draught-free rest area, which has appropriate ventilation and is lit either naturally or artificially. The shelter provided for Tokyo failed to comply with the above requirements.”

Alongside the 10-year disqualification from keeping animals, Codrington was also ordered to pay £180 when he was sentenced at Birmingham Magistrates Court.

After being cared for by the RSPCA Tokyo gained weight and is getting ready for rehoming.

On November 20 last year, the RSPCA case was heard at Birmingham Magistrates Court in Codrington's absence as he failed to attend. He was found guilty and Tokyo was given to the RSPCA via a Section 20 application. He was sentenced on March 24.

As a result of Codrington's conduct on 10 April the CPS prosecuted him for common assault against officer Moore. Codrington was found guilty after trial and sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work, plus ordered to pay £414 costs and £150 compensation.