A Bromley teenager left his dog tied up in his house without food for over a week. 

Nicholas Kengere, of Capstone Road in Bromley, appeared at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (May 23) where he pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the dog’s welfare and causing it unnecessary suffering. 

The 19-year-old left his black Labrador named Blade tethered to a coat hook on the wall in his hallway while he was in hospital, an RSPCA prosecutor told the court. 

Neighbours reported that a dog had been abandoned so RSPCA officers attended the property on January 24. 

One of Kengere’s friends who had a key to the property allowed officers inside where they found Blade tethered in the stairwell in a poor condition. 

The dog, thought to be between eight months and a year old, was very thin and bones were visible. It had red fleshy lumps in his eyes and was standing in his own faeces, the prosecutor told the court. 

“The dog had been kept tethered in the stairwell with no bedding, no clean resting area and no access to toileting facilities,” the prosecutor said. 

Blade was taken to a vet who rated the dog’s body condition as two on a scale of one to nine. 

The dog was 50 per cent underweight with bones visible and no palpable body fat, the court heard. 

The vet’s opinion was that Blade had likely been undernourished for two to three weeks of longer. 

The red lumps in Blade’s eyes, a condition known as cherry eye, required surgical intervention. 

RSPCA officers placed seals on the door on January 24 and these were unbroken on both January 25 and January 26, the court heard. 

Kengere was eventually interviewed on February 8 and was cooperative, confirming he was Blade’s sole owner. 

“He said he had been in hospital for a week before the RSPCA attended and that he tethered the dog to stop it from going into the bins in the kitchen. He admitted the dog was probably suffering and that it was his fault,” the prosecutor said. 

In mitigation, the court heard that the hospital visit was unplanned as Kengere suffers from a chronic B12 deficiency which causing loss of feeling in his limbs and was difficult to diagnose. 

Kengere said his pain level was so high that it affected his thinking process. 

However, he acknowledged that despite the circumstances he should have done a lot for the dog. 

An 18-year-old woman who had been charged with the same offences had her charges withdrawn as Kengere accepted sole responsibility for Blade. 

Sentencing was adjourned until June to allow a pre-sentence report to be prepared.