A woman who neglected her XL Bully dog to the point that vets couldn’t recognise its breed claimed she didn’t ask for help because of the Government ban.

Carys Scott, 31, of Birkenhead, neglected Marlow so badly that his weight plummeted to less than half of what it should have been, and he struggled to walk and drink.

She appeared at Wirral Magistrates Court on Wednesday, having pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

The RSPCA became aware of Marlow’s case on March 23 this year after a woman claimed she had found him dumped in Port Sunlight River Park.

However, RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes later discovered Marlow had not been abandoned, but the woman who claimed she found him was a friend of Scott.

The suffering dog was taken for urgent veterinary treatment, where he was given a body condition score of just one out of nine.

Vets found pressure sores on his wrists, ankles and hips – caused from lying down for a long time – and he had healing puncture marks on his nose.

Both ears were inflamed where they had been cropped, and reduced neurological reflexes were recorded on all his limbs.

Sam Simpson, of the Friends of Council Kennels, posted devastating photos of Marlow to the group’s page, writing: ‘He was in an awful state. He couldn’t stand. He was wrapped in a quilt cover and the person was carrying him in. We treated him as a stray and we had no reason to question it.

‘He was completely emaciated. It was the worst I’ve ever seen, and we have seen some bad things here. His nails were overgrown. He was just 17.4kg when he should have been about 40kg, so that’s a big difference.

‘He was so emaciated we didn’t even know what breed he was at first.’

Scott claimed that Marlow was her ex partner’s dog and she had lived with him for three years at one point, until the dog bit a family member and was rehomed.

She said Marlow was ‘dumped’ back at her address in February and she took him in.

Scott claimed she kept the dog in her kitchen and had fed him, but he could not walk, stay standing or drink.

The owner claimed she chose not to take Marlow to the vet because of the ban on XL Bully dogs, also blaming the lack of care on financial restrictions. She also claimed she has tried to contact the PDSA for help but failed.

Marlow had to be put down just four days after he was brought in for help.

A post mortem found there were no visible gastrointestinal diseases that would explain Marlow’s terrible condition.

A vet who gave evidence in the case said: ‘Ms Scott noticed the dog was in poor body condition, yet failed to seek veterinary advice or attention.

‘It is my opinion that Marlow suffered unnecessarily in Ms Scott’s care.’

Sam said: ‘He was a happy boy until the end, and his tail was wagging even though he couldn’t stand up. Considering what he’d been through, he still had trust in people.’

Scott was given a 12 months community order, a £194 fine, and was banned from owning animals for 10 years.