The case of the two brothers who owned a really, really fat dog who were charged with animal cruelty for overfeeding it has concluded this week in the conviction of the two men. But at least British justice is consistent, and the guys got merely a slap on the wrist. I think they had to promise not to be so generous with the kibble, but they received no jail time and no fine and they got Rusty the-not-quite-so-fat dog back.
Magistrates convicted Derek Benton, 62 and his brother David, 53, of causing unnecessary suffering after a £12,000 two-day trial. But they decided that the dog, Rusty - who was 11-and-a-half stone [160 pounds] at his heaviest - could be returned to the Bentons providing it was properly cared for. They imposed a conditional discharge on each of the men.
Whewwwww....the Vol-in-Law and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. We have a fat cat.
Earlier the brothers' lawyer, Ann-Marie Gregory, had told the court in Ely, Cambridgeshire, that the case had left the owners of overweight animals living in fear of prosecution.
You got that right. And our poor kitties have been on a diet ever since a co-worker of mine highlighted parallels in the pet rearing approaches of the Benton Brothers and ourselves.
The kitty diet update
Hey, after a slow start - the cats have actually lost weight. Fancy didn't really need to lose weight, but she'd put on just enough that we didn't think it would hurt her. But Other Cat, well - her lack of personal responsibility was putting us in danger of a court date. After following Melusina's advice of 2/3 cup of cat food per cat per day, Other Cat is considerably lighter - though still "big boned" - and Fancy is down to an optimum weight which means we've moved them back to regular food, but we're keeping a close eye on portion size. Other Cat already seems more active, so we're hoping that her weight loss will continue - albeit perhaps at a slower rate.
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