THE owner of a severely ill and neglected dog which had to be put to sleep has been banned from owning pets for life.

Yvonne Mairs, of Sinclair Avenue, Orford, appeared in Warrington Magistrates' Court on Monday after her dog, Sasha, was found with discharge and blood dripping from her ears and many missing and loose teeth.

Anna McDonald, prosecuting, said on June 4, Mairs, 51, rang the RSPCA saying her dog was ill.

Inspectors arrived at her home and were shown Sasha who, the court heard, was quiet, lethargic, underweight and had infections.

Ms McDonald explained that as well as a chronic ear infection and dental disease, Sasha's skin was scabbed over and there was a strong smell coming from her infection sites.

The court was told that upon inspection by a vet, Sasha was clearly in pain and would yelp when the vet tried to touch her face.

Sasha was euthanised, as the vet deemed surgery would have been too much for her and carried too many risks.

Ms McDonald said the dog would have been suffering for a minimum of six weeks but possibly many months, although Mairs said she only noticed the extent of Sasha's illnesses the week before calling the RSPCA.

The court heard how, due to suffering from anxiety, Mairs struggled leaving the house and did not have a way to transport the dog to a vet, but she had been trying to clean Sasha's head with a cloth.

Zoe Keene, defending Mairs, said her partner died in 2017 and last week her brother's life support machine was switched off after he sustained injuries in a serious assault.

She stressed that this had caused serious upset for Mairs, who suffers from mental health issues.

Mairs had owned the dog for its whole life and there was no suggestion to say that it had been neglected before.

Ms Whittaker, chair of the magistrates' bench, said: "We do feel that this has past the custody threshold but we are prepared to suspend that.

"We will impose a ban on you keeping animals, and we feel that this should be on all animals."

Mairs received a prison sentence of 12 weeks, suspended for 12 months, for failing to seek veterinary care.

She is subject to a lifetime ban on owning animals.