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This article contains images some may find distressing

A man who failed to get treatment for his dog’s leg injury has been banned from keeping dogs for 18 months.

David Tasker, 59, of Henry Street, Bargoed, left the open wound on his terrier cross Benji’s back leg fester for a year, according to a vet’s report.

Benji also developed skin issues triggered by incontinence. His health was so poor he had to be put down.

The RSPCA prosecuted Tasker, who pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court on April 8.

As well as the ban from keeping dogs, he was also fined £120 and placed under a 12-month community order, requiring him to complete ten rehabilitation activity days.

Tasker was also told to pay court costs of £400, as well as a victim surcharge of £114, which goes towards funding victim services.

RSPCA inspector Sophie Daniels investigated the case. In a statement presented to the court, she said that when she attended the defendant’s home on July 18 last year, Benji’s health was poor.

One of the dog’s hind legs was bandaged up and he had hair loss over his back and rump, with raised skin all over his belly.

“As I got closer to the dog there was an overwhelming smell of urine and the skin all over the underside of the dog was wet,” Ms Daniels explained. “There was a makeshift bandage on the left hind leg, which looked to be wrapped in parcel tape which the defendant said he had put on.”

Tasker had told Ms Daniels that Benji had been diagnosed with intervertebral disc disease before he became his owner, and he would take him on walks in a wheeled dog cart as a result.

But while Tasker claimed he washed the dog daily, he had been using human mouthwash to treat a maggot infestation – which had flared up during a spell of hot weather.

Ms Daniels took Benji to the RSCPA clinic in Merthyr Tydfil, where his bandage was removed, revealing an open flesh wound on the outside of his left back foot, as well as small pressure ulcers.

“Benji had a long open flesh wound with white showing in the middle,” she said. “I could not tell if this was bone or tendon, but the wound was large and deep in the centre and the hock joint was very moveable as though broken.”

The vet described the joint as “totally disrupted with no stability and some bony structures missing,” and said this was due to “chronic infection destroying the bones after the wound became deep enough to expose them”.

Speaking after the hearing, Ms Daniels said: “Because of his spinal disease Benji needed a lot of care, but the defendant took it on himself to treat his skin issues and the wound on his hind leg when he should have gone straight to a vets before his condition deteriorated.”

Merthyr Magistrates heard how Tasker suffers from alcohol dependency and mental health issues, and was experiencing financial difficulties.

Speaking to Caerphilly Observer after this article was first published, Tasker said he had tried his best to look after the dog, using antiseptic cream he had bought from a dog groomer to treat the wound on Benji’s leg.

He said he had tried to take the dog to multiple vets for treatment, but could not because of finances and transport issues and had even contacted charity the PDSA, only to be told he was outside their area.

Tasker said that as an animal lover he took the dog on from its previous owners as he believed he could adequately care for it.

He said: “It was my heart ruling my head…I loved that little dog.”

This article was amended on April 27, 2026, to include comments from the defendant, correct the amount he was ordered to pay, and clarify that the 18-month ban applied only to keeping dogs.