A dog owner whose Lhasa Apso had fur so matted it struggled to walk is allowed to keep the animal after nearly 2kg of hair was clipped off.
David Youngston, 57, allowed his dog Doogles to become so badly matted that he became lame in one leg.
The poorly pooch also smelled of urine and faeces due to his congealed fur, due to a lack of grooming and veterinary care.
Nearly 2kg of the filthy dog hair was lopped off after an intervention by the Scottish SPCA.
Youngston, of, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, was taken to court by the charity and pled guilty at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to causing unnecessary suffering under section 19 of the Animal Health & Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.
He was ordered to pay a £1,000 compensation order, but allowed to keep Doogles – to the dismay of the SSPCA, which condemned the sentence and said Youngston should have been given a ban instead.
SSPCA inspector Fiona Shand said: “The charge was dealt as Youngston caused Doodle suffering by failing to provide adequate veterinary attention and grooming.
“Upon veterinary examination, Doodles was found to have severely matted fur over his whole body.
“The matts were significantly contaminated with faecal matter around his hind and feet, and he smelled very strongly of urine and faeces.
“Doodles had a significantly reduced range of motion in all four limbs, and was lame on his right hind leg due to the matting restricting his movement.
“Once the matted fur had been clipped it became evident that there was urine scalding on all four feet, around the groin area as the matts had restricted urination.
“Doodle’s bodyweight on presentation was 9.4kg, after removal of the matted fur his bodyweight was 7.5kg.
“Although we welcome the fact that this case has been dealt with by the court, we are disappointed with the sentence handed down.
“As no ban was issued, Doodles had to be returned to Youngston’s care.
“This case further highlights our push for tougher and more consistent sentencing.
“This degree of matting had not occurred quickly and is likely to have taken a considerable amount of time to get to this state.
“Doodles suffered unnecessarily as a result of this and it could have been easily avoided.”