We are petitoning against The Kennel Club allowing someone who was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to his dog to judge Mastiffs at Crufts 2013. The details are below. Please sign if you agree.

Article printed in The Northampton Chronicle April 6th 2009. Staff at a veterinary centre in Northamptonshire tipped off the RSPCA about the treatment of a dog brought in for euthanasia, described by the senior partner as the worst he had seen in more than 25 years. Henry, an 11-year-old Old English mastiff, was taken to the Croft Veterinary Centre, in Brackley, to be put down in December 2007. He was extremely emaciated with a cancerous tumour in his mouth which had disintegrated his lower jaw, making it impossible for him to eat. He also had bed sores, caused because he was unable to stand. David Blaxter, aged 71, a breeder of Old English mastiffs and Great Danes was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog in the case brought by the RSPCA. He regularly showed dogs at Crufts and had acted as a judge at dog shows. Allan Dick, senior partner at the Croft Veterinary Centre, said when Henry was taken in he weighed 38kgs, half of the healthy weight range for a dog of his breed. Mr Dick said: "It came about from the post mortem that Henry had a slow growing tumour in his lower jaw to which point his lower jaw was hanging down and his teeth were hanging forward. He couldn't eat or drink and the bone had dissolved. "I felt he should have been seen months beforehand. The tumour might have been operable and if not we could certainly have given pain relief. We hadn't seen the dog at all until that moment. "It was the worst case of neglect and suffering I have seen in more than 25 years." Henry had never had a veterinary examination in his life and Blaxter and his wife Sylvia, aged 75, admitted they had noticed problems with his mouth six months earlier. In mitigation, Blaxter said Henry was just an old dog and he had not noticed his tumour. The couple, of Barton Hartshorn, near Brackley, were ordered to pay £4,130 in costs and fines by magistrates after being found jointly responsible of failing to provide veterinary treatment for Henry. RSPCA inspector Kirsty Hampton said: "I am pleased with the verdict as this dog was in a terrible state and little remorse was shown by someone who should know one of the most basic duties of a responsible owner – that sick animals need veterinary treatment. "I hope that the verdict and sentence will serve to prevent animals from suffering in the future." .

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