Leyland woman accused of burying live puppy in field denies he was in her rucksack

Seven week old Pomeranian, Spencer, was found in a shallow hole close to Worden Park on April 27, 2019, but had suffered two severely broken legs and vets later decided it was kinder to put him to sleep.

Inga Ozola, 43, of Seven Stars Road, Leyland, denies causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal between April 24 and 27, 2019.

Ozola and her partner of 15 years, Arunas Venslovas, 50, also of Seven Stars Road, Leyland, both deny failing to ensure Spencer received appropriate veterinary care for his injuries and both are on trial at Preston Magistrates' Court,.

The court was told they had kept dogs since 2014 and their family pets Lexi and Pluto had a litter of puppies in February 2019.

Ozola claims Spencer broke his leg the day before the puppies had their vaccinations and that a larger dog might have done it when playing.

She said after vets had told them the surgery would cost £2,000 they spoke to someone in Latvia and were told surgery was cheaper there.

Prosecuting, Carmel Wilde, read magistrates a summary of their interviews, in which they claimed Mr Venslovas had bumped into an acquaintance called 'Raminas' he knew through work five days before the incident and that he wanted a puppy.

Venslovas claimed the man, whose surname he did not know, offered to take him to Latvia for surgery and take him on afterwards.

He says he was supposed to pick him up from his home at 7.30am on April 7 before he started work, but the man was late, so he met him in a street, on the way to catch the bus to work, and handed Spencer over.

He also claims he gave the man £200 towards the cost of the surgery, but had been in a rush and had forgotten to pass on Spencer's medication.

When he was asked for 'Raminas's' contact details Venslovas said his number was in his old phone which was being repaired.

Miss Wilde added: "He stated he loved animals and would like to break the legs of the person who did bury the puppy because he loves animals, but he just doesn't know the last name of that person or their address."

Ozola told officers she didn't know why the person would have buried him and was "still upset about the situation and trusted her husband".

She claimed she and a friend had contacted a local police officer after seeing a press appeal.

After the interviews were summarised, Ozola was called to give evidence in person.

She told the court she had last seen Spencer at 5am that morning adding: "I needed the loo and at the same time I went to check on the dogs. I usually do that , I change the sheet and give them some water."

She said by the time she got up Spencer wasn't there.

Asked about going for a walk that morning with a bag on her back, she replied she would try to go for a walk each day if the weather was good, adding: " I always have my bag with me because I always carry water with me and because I'm diabetic I need to drink a lot of water."

When asked about the prosecution's claim she had Spencer in the bag she said: "That's not true."

(proceeding)

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