A STOURPORT woman appeared in court today after the emaciated body of a dead dog was found in a shed at the house where she was staying.

Kirsty Sansom, 20, pleaded not guilty to three charges of causing unneccessary suffering to an animal at Kidderminster Magistrates Court.

The charges relate to failure to provide the animal with a suitable diet and leaving it unattended to die.

She claims she did not know the dog, which she had allowed the owners to keep in a shed in her grandmother’s garden, was still there.

The offences are alleged to have taken place on an unknown date between September 1 and December 31 last year at a property in Barnfield Road, Stourport.

Prosecuting for the RSPCA, Nick Sutton said Sansom, who now lives in Chequers Close, Stourport, knew the female Staffordshire bull terrier, known as Paddy, was locked in a small shed just feet away from the kitchen.

He added: “It’s not that this person was the owner - it’s what she should have done.”

He said: “Its’ body was subsequently found in an emaciated state in the shed, dead.”

Defence solicitor, Brian Howarth said Sansom “had no knowledge the dog was still there.” He told the court she was not aware that the owners had abandoned it and left the area.

The case was adjourned for trial at Kidderminster Magistrates Court on December 6.