Senior city councilor Paul Shotton is back in court trying to clear his name as he attempts to overturn his animal cruelty conviction.

The 47-year-old and his 45-year-old wife, Annette, have already been convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to their pet Labrador Baron between June 24 and July 15, 2006.

The former deputy elected mayor, quit his £7,000-a-year role on Stoke-on-Trent City Council's cabinet after the couple were found guilty and given two-year conditional discharges.

But Mr Shotton held onto his Fenton seat and is appearing before Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court this week to try to overturn their conviction and sentence.

The RSPCA alleges the Shotton's, from Smithpool Road, Fenton, did not take any steps to get treatment for 16-year-old Baron and then went on holiday leaving him with Mr Shotton's son Gavin.

The court heard RSPCA inspector Julie Lyons went to the house a day later following a tip-off from a neighbor and found Baron lying down.

Rowan Jenkins, for the RSPCA, said: "There was a bowl of stale food and she did not see any water.

"She tried to help the dog stand but he soon fell over. She noticed the whole of the flank side of the dog was soaking in urine and he had a sore on his mouth and a large sore on his elbow."

The court heard Baron was taken to Willow Veterinary Surgery, in Endon, but he could not stand, was disorientated, distressed and dehydrated.

Baron was put down three days later on the vet's advice.

Mr Jenkins said: "We say a reasonable carer would have noticed what the problems were and done something about it, instead of going on holiday."

Insp Lyons told the court: "There was a real, real strong smell of urine. I managed to get him up. He tottered for a few steps and then fell over again."

Insp Lyons hit back at claims that Mr Shotton was being prosecuted because he is a city councilor.

"I have no hidden agenda," she said.

"There was an old dog, wobbly on his legs, stinking of urine and he had sores."

Vet Clive Curry told the court: "He was old, thin and very distressed. He also had arthritis and possibly spinal problems."

Gavin Shotton, who lived in nearby Alma Street, had earlier been cleared by magistrates of the same charge.

Update 12/1/08:  City councilor. Paul Shotton's appeal against his conviction of animal cruelty was due to be heard today.

The 47-year-old, of Smithpool Road, Fenton, and his wife Annette, aged 45, were given a two-year conditional discharge by magistrates last year after it was found they caused unnecessary suffering to the family dog. The couple were also banned from keeping animals for two years and told to pay the RSPCA's £3,000 costs.

The appeal against conviction and sentence is due to be heard at Stoke-in-Trent Crown Court.

Update 12/3/08: An expert witness in an animal cruelty case "exaggerated" claims against the dog's owners, councilor. Paul Shotton and his wife, because he was against the Labour Party, a court heard.

Jonathan Rich, who is representing the Fenton councilor. and his wife Annette in their appeal against a conviction of animal cruelty, suggested vet Clive Curry was biased against Mr Shotton because he is a Labour member of Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

The claim was denied by the vet, who treated the Shotton's' 16-year-old Golden Labrador, Baron, when it was taken to his practice in July, 2006.

The court was told Mr Curry's cousin, Terry Curry, lives near the Shotton's in Smithpool Road, Fenton.

It was alleged that the neighbors did not get on. "I did not know how well Terry gets on with him," said Mr Curry.

Mr Rich told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday that Terry Curry works for the environmental services department at Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

Judge Mark Eades asked the vet: "Are you biased against Mr and Mrs Shotton because of their relationship (with Terry Curry)?" The vet said: "Not really, my cousin is big enough and ugly enough to look after himself."

Shotton, and his wife, Annette, were convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to Baron. They received two-year conditional discharges, were banned from keeping animals for two years and were ordered to pay £3,000 costs.

The RSPCA says the Shotton's did not take any steps to treat Baron and went on holiday at 2pm on July 15, 2006, leaving him in the care of Mr Shotton's son Gavin.

RSPCA inspector Julie Lyons went to the house at about 10pm that day after the society received a tip-off.

Mr Curry maintained he believed Baron had suffered for four to five days, rather than hours as is suggested by the Shotton's defense team.

At the end of the RSPCA's case, Mr Rich argued there was no case for the Shotton's to answer.

But Judge Eades said it must have been obvious to the owners that the dog was old and deteriorating, and they should have kept an eye on it. He said: "The dog suffered unnecessarily. There is a prima facie case to answer."

Update 12/4/08: Labour councilor. Paul Shotton told a court his 13-year-old dog was "fine" before he went on a family break.

In the first trial the RSPCA alleged Baron was fly-struck, emaciated and dehydrated.

In the latest hearing it said the dog suffered from urine scalding for days before the Shotton's went on a holiday to Malaga, at about 2pm on Saturday, July 15, 2006.

Baron was left in the care of Mr Shotton's eldest son Gavin, who was to visit him about three times a day to feed, water and exercise him.

But at about 10pm that night an RSPCA inspector visited the Shotton's house in Smithpool Road, Fenton, after the society received a call from a member of the public.

She found the dog lying down and entered the garden to pick him up. She found him soaked in urine and he had a sore on his mouth and on his elbow.

The dog was taken to The Willow Veterinary Surgery in Endon, but he could not stand, was disorientated and distressed. Baron was put down three days later.

Yesterday Mr Shotton, who stood down as deputy elected mayor and was forced to resign as portfolio holder for public safety as a result of the case, said Baron's health was "absolutely perfect" throughout his life.

"We had no problem with him whatsoever," he said. "As Baron got older he walked less and ran around less."

He said that Baron's weight was never an issue and vets commented how fit and lean he was. He said two bowls of water and one bowl of food were always left out for him.

The court has heard that on Thursday, July 13, 2006, two days before Baron was found, Mrs Shotton called her husband because the dog would not leave his kennel. Mr Shotton returned straight away.

He said: "He had got his feet and head out the kennel, but he would just not move.

"I tried to coax him out but he just remained. I pulled him out by grabbing hold of his collar. As soon as I pulled him out he just got on his feet and darted around the yard two or three times."

Mr Shotton said Baron was his "normal self" on the Friday. He added: "He was a little subdued, nothing immensely noticeable, nothing to give me immense cause for concern at all."

On the Saturday the councilor. said the yard was cleaned and Baron was bathed before they left on holiday.

Defense barrister Jonathan Rich asked Mr Shotton: "Did you at any time notice any reddening of his coat or skin?" "Not at all, no," said Mr Shotton. Asked if he noticed Baron being incontinent before leaving, he said: "No." "If you had, what would you have done?" Mr Shotton said: "I probably would have phoned the vets and explained, and if we needed to go in I would have done."

Later the court heard from Dr Udo Hetzel, a veterinary pathologist at The University Of Liverpool, who carried out a post-mortem examination on the dog.

He said reddening of the skin can come on within minutes or hours, and that would still apply if the irritant was urine.

He said Baron could have been suffering reddening of his skin for days or hours.

He said he found no evidence the dog suffered to a significant level as a result of the reddening or dermatitis.

Update 12/5/08:  Senior councilor Paul Shotton and his wife Annette have won their appeal against an animal cruelty conviction and sentence.

The couple, of Smithpool Road, Fenton, were cleared of causing unnecessary suffering to their 13-year-old labrador Baron.

Last November they received two-year conditional discharges and were banned from keeping dogs for the same period after being found guilty at North Staffordshire Magistrates' Court.

Councilor Shotton, who sits on Stoke-on-Trent City Council and is a former deputy elected mayor, was forced to stand down from the authority's cabinet.

But Judge Mark Eades, sitting with two magistrates at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, said evidence from veterinary pathologist Dr Udo Hetzel cast a new light on inferences from the first case.

Dr Hetzel, who carried out a post-mortem examination on Baron, said the dog had a heart condition and could have had a "sudden event" after the Shotton's left him to go on holiday at 2pm on Saturday, July 15, 2006, and before the RSPCA inspector Julie Lyons found him soaking wet and stinking of urine about eight hours later.

Judge Eades said: "Dr Hetzel said the factual accounts could all be true and the dog could have had a sudden event after 2pm. That could have been precipitated by heart problems and heart failure and therefore the inference the prosecution has been asking us to draw – that Mr and Mrs Shotton have been telling untruths – is not necessarily the case.

Dr Hetzel had also said the degree of suffering was not serious and would not reach the level of significance to amount to an offence.

"We are therefore formally of the view that although there is a great deal of suspicion, when it comes to proof the prosecution cannot meet the required standard of proof."

The judge said two prosecution witnesses, inspector Lyons and Endon vet Clive Curry, were subjected to "extremely vigorous" cross-examination, but the panel found them both to be truthful witnesses who were doing their jobs.

He said: "Mr Curry was accused of bias, vindictiveness and of giving false or warped testimony and professional improper behavior.

The judge capped the Shotton's compensation claim at £1,500 because the appeal took longer than it should have done.

After the judgment, councilor Shotton, aged 48, released a statement. It said: "Annette and I are pleased that after two-and-a-half years we have been cleared of every one of the RSPCA's allegations against us.

"At the original trial they claimed that our much loved family pet Baron was emaciated and dehydrated. He was not."

Asked about his political future, councilor Shotton said: "I am just going to sit back and make a decision later."

Reference:

The Sentinel