Woman jailed for leaving eight starving dogs to eat each other in hellhole flat

Seven dogs horrifically died after they were left in a filthy hellhole flat as a woman has been jailed over the shocking cruelty.

Stacey Harris, 39, left eight dogs to die in disgusting conditions inside an abandoned flat in Dundee. The 39-year-old had starved the animals for at least two months and failed to provide food or seek treatment for painful eye and ear infections. Only one dog managed to survive the appalling conditions the suffering animals had been kept in.

Harris appeared in Dundee Sheriff Court on Tuesday and was handed an eight month jail sentence and a lifetime ban from owning or keeping dogs. It comes after a dad died in a scalding hot bath as his family slam a hotel's management for 'ignoring warnings'.

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She was found guilty of seven charges - six of causing unnecessary suffering and one of failing to meet basic welfare needs, according to the Daily Record.

A probe was launched by the SSPCA after a tip-off was made about suspected dog abandonment in October 2024. A Scottish SPCA inspector said "We received a complaint that a property had been abandoned and the dogs inside had not been attended to for over a week."

When officers arrived at the property, they could see an emaciated Sharpei-type dog with visibly infected eyes.

The flat was said to have an overwhelming smell of faeces and urine, with the entire property being was littered with dog excrement, rubbish, and debris. A tan and white American Bulldog - the sole survivor - was so malnourished it could not walk and had to be carried out.

A vet later said the dog had recently given birth and was suffering from dehydration, skin, and ear infections that had gone untreated for weeks. She was also extremely underweight, with ribs, spine, and hip bones visible.

The SSPCA have not seen any report of the pregnancy or about the puppies of the surviving bulldog.

After walking upstairs, inspectors found the remains of a dead Sharpie dog stuck in a bedroom doorway. The second dead dog, a Sharpei cross, was found lying on the floor of the second bedroom surrounded by dog faeces, empty dog food bags and rubbish.

The bodies of a 12-year-old chihuahua and year old Sharpei were never found and were presumed eaten. Three other one year and four months old Sharpei-type dogs, who were all emaciated, were removed from the property using specialist equipment.

They were later euthanised on welfare grounds due to the severity of their untreated conditions. The bodies of the two dead Sharpei dogs were taken for postmortem which confirmed both had died from prolonged starvation.

An inspector added: "This was an extremely distressing case where multiple animals suffered unnecessarily for a prolonged period which could have been easily avoided by contacting an animal welfare organisation for help if needed.

"It is hard to comprehend how any individual cannot attend to their own pets knowing they were locked up in a property. As a result, the Scottish SPCA and the Inspector involved are very pleased with Harris’s sentencing and hope it acts as a deterrent to others."