A Canberra woman has been fined $1750 after her starving dog was rescued by animal welfare inspectors.
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The ACT Magistrates Court heard the dog, Storm, was emaciated, wasted away and ''looked like skin on bones'' after it was taken into care.
Kellie Ann Ward, 41, told the court she had been suffering mental illness at the time of the offence in May and June last year but took full responsibility for her actions and was deeply remorseful for them.
She pleaded guilty to four charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, failing to provide animals with food or water, failing to seek veterinary treatment and neglecting an animal to cause pain.
The court heard RSPCA inspectors visited Ward's Ainslie home repeatedly in May and June last year after receiving reports of a sickly dog.
They saw Storm sitting in the backyard of the house and noted the dog was old and thin.
When inspectors returned the next day and spoke to Ward, she told them the dog was thin because she had no money for food but had since fed the animal.
She was told to contact the RSPCA if she needed any help with the dog.
A month later the inspectors again received a call about the dog and went out to Ward's home to find the dog ''looked like skin on bones'' and had difficulty walking.
The dog was taken to the animal shelter.
A veterinarian's report said Storm was in ''exceedingly poor condition'' with visible ribs, protruding bones and wasting musculature.
Photographs of the dog were tendered in court.
The court heard Storm was now on the road to recovery but if it had been left in its previous condition there was a strong chance it would have succumbed to the elements.
Ward said she had been suffering mental health issues that stemmed from a bad motor accident 18 months before the offences and had made poor judgments.
But she told the court she was shouldering the responsibility for her actions.
''I'm here today because I didn't carry out my responsibilities and I should be punished for that,'' she said.
Ward also undertook not to own or care for any animals.
Magistrate Bernadette Boss said it was disturbing to see photographs of an animal which had been so poorly treated. But she took into account Ward's pleas of guilty and accepted she was suffering from a level of mental illness at the time.
She fined Ward a total of $1750 plus court costs and placed her on a good-behaviour order for 12 months.
