Woman Banned from Keeping Dogs After Abandoning Starving Pets

A Southampton, England woman has been barred from owning dogs for five years after leaving two French bulldogs behind in an empty house without food or water.

The RSPCA discovered the neglected mother and puppy on January 25, 2024, at a property on Derby Road. The dogs were severely underweight and dehydrated after being left alone for 17 days. The landlord, upon finding them, alerted authorities.

Aprillouise Toni Rushford, 35, of London Road, admitted to failing to care for the dogs and causing unnecessary suffering. She received a two-year conditional discharge from Southampton magistrates.

RSPCA officer Jo Story recalled the heartbreaking scene: “I slowly opened the door to see a small French bulldog puppy. She was extremely skinny with all her ribs showing and the room was full of faeces. She was absolutely desperate to get out and chewing at the door. There were scratch marks on the door as well.”

An emaciated adult French bulldog was found in another room, which was also filthy and strewn with broken plates. The dogs weighed only 3.3kg (7.3lb) and 7.3kg (16.1lb) at the time of their rescue. Under proper care, the mother gained a third of her weight, and the puppy’s weight doubled.

Rushford claimed she was temporarily staying elsewhere and avoided informing the landlord about the dogs because pets were not allowed. The RSPCA has since arranged for the dogs to be rehomed.

Related Content:

• Watch This French Bulldog Brings Joy to Nursing Home 
• Tiny French Bulldog Puppy Discovered in Trashcan
• Watch This French Bulldog Run After Hearing “The Magic Word”
• French Bulldog Puppy Miraculously Regrows Jaw
• French Bulldog Puppies Crack Up Internet With Backseat Fight

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Adopt-a-Pet: Visit WildWatchers, a watchdog platform specifically designed for animal, earth, and wildlife warriors to actively give back, rescue, and protect animals and the planet.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Stand against fast fashion Pollution by supporting circular brands like Tiny Rescue, which create cause-based collections using recycled, zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade, ensuring it never ends up in a landfill.
• Shop Sustainably for Your Home: Visit SustaiNOBLE.org, an eco-friendly and ethically sourced home decor store that will empower your home with luxurious fair-trade, and sustainable products made by global artisans. 
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!