A dog has died after it was found underweight with a muzzle ‘permanently taped’ to its face.
The owner of German Shepherd Sparrow, Joanne Falconer, 58, has been banned from having pets after the dog had to be put down following an inspection by the animal welfare charity RSPCA.
Charity officials discovered Sparrow underweight with the muzzle taped to his face at Falconer’s home in South Shields, South Tyneside, last July.
The restraint was stuck on with duct tape around the nose and brown parcel tape around the back of Sparrow’s head.
It was only removed when he was fed, South Tyneside Magistrates’ court heard.
On October 28, 2025, Falconer, of Millais Gardens, pleaded guilty to two animal welfare abuse charges relating to Sparrow and two severely dehydrated kittens, Alpha and Beta, which were also found at her home and had to be put on an IV drip.
RSPCA inspector Rowena Proctor went to Falconer’s home on July 8 last year after being called about a tin dog which reportedly had a muzzle taped to its head, the court heard.
In her written evidence to the court, Ms Proctor said: ‘The muzzle was a plastic basket style with silver gaffer tape wrapped around the muzzle area and brown parcel tape that appeared to be wrapped around the straps to the back of the head, holding it in place.’
Sparrow was very thin, Ms Proctor added, saying she was concerned for the dog as his ribs, spine and pelvis were visible.
She continued: ‘A metal dog bowl was in the living room but this was empty, and even if there was any food or water in it, the dog would not have been able to access it without assistance due to the muzzle that I was told was permanently in place.’
Sparrow was muzzled ’24/7′ the court was told, but the restraint was taken off his face four times a day for feeding.
The kittens found under Falconer’s care were extremely littered and untidy, Ms Proctor said. There was no food for either of them and they had been infested with fleas.
Falconer did confirm she was the owner of all three pets and said Sparrow had last been to the vet two months before Ms Proctor’s visit.
When the inspector took them to a vet, it was confirmed they were suffering or likely to suffer. Police were called and they took away the three animals under the Animal Welfare Act.
Sparrow had been diagnosed by the vet with an assumed allergic skin disease and a secondary bacterial infection.
She added: ‘Placing a muzzle on an itchy dog would cause severe distress in being unable to scratch.
‘This would result in immense mental strain. He was underweight with a body condition score of 3/9. He was provided with food and he ate this readily.
‘No obvious underlying medical cause for this could be found leading to the assumption that he was simply not provided with enough food to sustain a healthy body condition. This had likely been ongoing for at least one month but likely longer.’
The kittens were in fairly good health, though both were covered in fleas and dehydrated.
Neither of them had been neutered so would have bred uncontrollably if left together, the court heard.
Falconer was disqualified from keeping animals for five years on March 31. She was also fined £300 and ordered to pay costs of £300 and an £80 victim surcharge.
In mitigation, Falconer was said to have been well-intentioned but incompetent in her care for the animals.
Sparrow sadly had to be put down but kittens Alpha and Beta can now be legally rehomed by the RSPCA after Falconer refused to sign any of the animals over during the course of its investigation.
