Kettering woman banned from keeping dogs after RSPCA found her pet 'severely underweight' and 'withdrawn'
A woman has been banned from keeping dogs for seven years after a dog in her care was found to be very underweight.
When the RSPCA visited Cali Dunkley’s home they found her dog Koda in a sorry state.
She had previously been given a vet voucher by the charity to help her pay for the female Dogue de Bordeaux’s care, but further concerns were raised.
Inspectors found the dog to be very thin and timid.
Dunkley, 35, of Spring Rise, Kettering, appeared before Wellingborough Magistrates’ Court on October 21 2025 for sentencing.
She had been found guilty in her absence but at a subsequent hearing confirmed she did not receive the summons but would have pleaded guilty of failing to meet the need of Koda to be maintained in an appropriate body condition.
The defendant was disqualified from keeping any dogs for seven years and also given a 12 month community order which included 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days. She was also ordered to pay £400 costs and a victim surcharge of £114.
The court heard the RSPCA had visited the defendant’s home on a number of occasions regarding Koda’s body condition. The defendant was given advice and had also previously been given a vet voucher to help.
On January 6 this year RSPCA Inspector Susan Haywood attended the defendant’s home with the police. She explained they were there due to further concerns for Koda and were invited in.
Inspector Haywood was shown Koda who was severely underweight. The bones of the spine, hips and ribs were clearly visible she also a had a timid and withdrawn demeanour.
Inspector Haywood stated her concerns over Koda and that she hadn’t seen a vet. The RSPCA had been trying to help the defendant and had given her a vet assistance voucher in the past. She explained that a dog shouldn’t be this thin unless there was something underlying that was wrong or that she had not been feeding enough.
Koda was taken into the possession of the police and removed from the property and taken to a vet for examination.
She was examined by a vet who found she weighed 21.1kg and was visibly very underweight. She had a body condition score of 2/9, where 1 is emaciated and 9 is obese. The healthy weight range would be 4 or 5 out of 9. Her ribs, pelvic bones and spine were clearly visible.
Following a full examination the vet could not find any medical reason for Koda to be underweight. Blood tests were taken which showed no evidence of any underlying disease.
The pet received worming and flea treatment and was advised to be fed a nutritionally adequate diet to assess her ability to gain weight following feeding.
The vet said that in their opinion, Koda did not have her needs met by the person responsible for her, by failing to provide an adequate level of nutrition (feeding ).
Speaking after the case inspector Haywood said: “After being in RSPCA care Koda has continued to gain weight and is doing really well. She will be available for rehoming soon.
In mitigation the court heard the defendant suffered from mental health issues for which she was seeking treatment. She said she had rescued Koda but accepted she couldn’t look after her properly.