A man and a woman have pleaded guilty to a string of animal cruelty charges after their dog's body was found stashed in a suitcase and dumped on the bank of the River Mersey.
Christy Hewitt, 21, and Chantelle Duvall-Gregory, 20, battered and abused their two-year-old Belgian Shepherd Snoop, who was found dead inside a bright pink locked suitcase by a dog walker near the Speke and Garston Nature Reserve on January 11.
At Sefton Magistrates Court today, November 28, the pair admitted to three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to Snoop by beating him, failing to provide an adequate diet, and failing to take him to a vet when necessary. They also pleaded guilty to one count of breaching their duties as people responsible for ensuring the welfare of an animal.
READ MORE: People who threw dog locked in suitcase into the Mersey branded 'evil'
The offences took place between April 1 and December 22 2021 at the couple's former home on Winfield Road, Garston.
Wirral RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes said: "The dog was found in a suitcase on the banks of the River Mersey and that's how these crimes have come to light. Chantelle Duvall-Gregory's name was found on the suitcase.
"It was a dog walker that found Snoop. He was tightly packed into the suitcase on the banks of the River Mersey. The dog was found in a reasonable condition, but he was wrapped up."
Duvall-Gregory, of no fixed abode, and Hewitt, of Parkfield Road in Aigburth, will appear for sentencing at Liverpool Magistrates Court on January 9 2023.
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