A mother-of-eight has been banned from keeping dogs for life after she effectively starved her son’s dog and failed to take him to a vet for a chronic skin condition.

Tanya Alabaf had taken on the care of six-year-old bulldog Ceasar while his owner served time in prison.

But not only did she fail to feed him, she also neglected to provide him with adequate water and didn’t take him to a vet so his “painful and pussy” skin condition could be treated.

Ceasar, who was suffering from a mange infestation with fur loss, sores and scabbing across his body and face, as well as being severely emaciated, later had to be put to sleep after he started suffering seizures.

His plight only came to light when he was spotted by a police officer who went to Alabaf’s home in Wouldham over an unrelated matter in May this year.

The state of the dog’s health was immediately identified by the officer and his body-worn camera footage was shown in court at Alabaf’s sentencing hearing after the 42-year-old admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal when she appeared in court in November.

At the time, sentencing was adjourned to allow a pre-sentencing report to be carried out on her and she returned to Medway Magistrates’ Court on January 2 to hear her fate which is when magistrates were shown the harrowing footage.

They heard Ceasar, a white and brown bulldog, suffered between March 23, 2024 and May 23, 2024 at Alabaf’s home in High Street, Wouldham after “everything fell apart” in her life when she was attacked and injured in a knife attack.

On the footage, the police officer can clearly be heard identifying something seriously wrong with the dog.

The officer even then tells a male in the house that he should go and get a bowl of water for the dog and when the severely emaciated dog is given it, he drinks from the bowl straight away.

Sophie Read, prosecuting, on behalf of the RSPCA sadly told the court after Ceasar was seized by police and taken to a vet and given treatment, he later had to be put down as he kept having seizures.

However, Ms Read told the court despite the state of dog, vets treating him couldn’t be sure his seizures were connected to his condition.

The prosecutor added: “On May 23 a police officer attended the address in regards to another matter and noticed the state of Ceasar who was being kept in an extremely hot room.

“There was faeces and urine on the floor and no water or food and when water was presented to the dog he drank it immediately.”

In June an RSPCA inspector telephoned Alabaf who said her son had been in prison and she was responsible for Ceasar’s care, but couldn’t afford to take him to a vet.

Ms Read added: “After being seized he was treated and his bones were prominent and he has ulcerations on his skin and it was scabbing and puss was leaking from his neck, his eye and his head was inflamed.

“He had been suffering for some time and there was a lack of adequate nutrition, it was starvation and later had to be put down due to seizures, but the vets can’t link that to his poor state.

“The last time he saw a vet was 2018 and she was looking after him from March 15, so it was prolonged neglect and there was a high amount of pain and suffering caused to the animal.”

A probation officer who interviewed Alabaf said she was very emotional during their interview and told her that she knew she had failed the dog.

The court also heard Alabaf, originally from London, had been moved to emergency accommodation in Wouldham after she was attacked with a knife by one of her other sons who had mental health issues.

She had been injured and her son had now been detained in a psychiatric unit.

Alabaf now lives with five of her eight children and the court heard that she wasn’t coping because of the trauma she suffered when she was attacked.

Magistrates also heard some of her children had special needs and that she had tried to get help from social services as she was struggling and was desperate for help, but after an assessment, had been told she didn’t meet the threshold for any.

The probation officer added: “She knows she was responsible for the animal’s care but wasn’t in a position to care for the dog, she should have taken him to a shelter rather than let him suffer.”

Charley Weldrick, mitigating, told magistrates Ceasar had been cared for in his client’s family home since he was a puppy but unfortunately “everything fell apart” in Alabaf’s life.

He added: “She’s of previous good character and she was just overwhelmed, she has five children at home and social service agencies were unable to provide support.

“She’s accepted responsibility and has accepted she’s done wrong and pleaded guilty at an early opportunity.”

The chairman of the bench told Alabaf she had failed the dog and that she had hopefully learned her lesson and told her their starting point for punishment was 26 weeks’ custody but because of her early guilty plea they were putting her on a high-level community order instead.

Alabaf was placed on a 12-month order which will see her attend 10 rehabilitation sessions and complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

She should have taken him to a shelter rather than let him suffer

She was also ordered to pay £400 court costs and a £114 victim surcharge and will pay what she owes the court at a rate of £20 month because she’s on benefits.

Alabaf was also banned for life from owning a dog.

The bench also ordered the cost of Ceasar’s veterinary care be met by the courts’ central funds facility.