A RESPECTED Afghan Hound breeder neglected her dogs so badly after she developed Alzheimer's Disease that three had to be destroyed, a court heard today.

Six other Afghans were saved from illness and starvation and have since been re-homed, magistrates in Cheltenham were told.

The plight of Pamela Brading-Clarke's dogs was discovered when she took one of them to the vet's because it was so emaciated and unwell, said RSPCA prosecutor David Glass.

He said the vet had to put the dog down and was so concerned that he called the RSPCA and police.

Officers who went to her home in Dursley in March found eight other Afghans were in a hungry and neglected state and two were so bad they too had to be put down.

Giving 63-year-old Mrs Brading-Clarke an absolute discharge for five offences of failing to provide necessary care for the dogs, the court chairman David Bailey said: "This is probably one of saddest cases that I and my magistrates have had to do.

"You no doubt were a very respectable breeder of these animals and I am sure the last thing you wanted to do was cause them any harm.

"We feel sorry for you, having been a reputable lady, to have to come to this court and stand there. We hope your illness gets better."

Mrs Brading-Clarke had denied the offences on the grounds that she could not remember the events and the case was formally proved by the prosecutor reading out statements from vet Zephanie Bradley and RSPCA inspector Philip Mann.

Mr Glass described how the officers found the dogs, in various states of emaciation and illness, some in small cages measuring only two feet by three feet.

In the case of an emaciated 12 year old dog called Fleur there was no sign of food or water in her bowls in the shed where she was kept, he said.

Another 12 year old bitch, Fern, was also emaciated with a growth hanging from her underside.

A three year old Afghan called Crystal was in the garage inside a travel cage measuring only 3 feet by one and a half feet, said Mr Glass.

A male Afghan called Guy was emaciated, lethargic and very weak and suffering from diaorrhoea.

Mrs Brading-Clarke agreed there and then to sign over custody of the dogs to the RSPCA, Mr Glass said.

He said the case was 'somewhat unusual' because of Mrs Brading-Clarke's mental condition and although the RSPCA had incurred costs of £1,958 its main concern was that she should be barred from keeping animals in future.

Tim Burrows, defending, said "This is one of the more difficult cases I have ever had to deal with.

"My client is a dog breeder of many years standing and has kept Afghans for a considerable period of time.

"This case has come about as a result of her taking one of her dogs to the vet. It was experiencing various problems which she thought were due to slug pellets she had put down in the garden.

"As a result the RSPCA became concerned and when visiting her home they found eight dogs in various stages of emaciation.

"She expressed concern at the state her dogs were in but was able to offer very little explanation as to how they had come to be in that state other than that she simply could not cope with that number of dogs any more and as a result had lost control of their care.

"The RSPCA and police were sufficiently concerned about her state of health to call for the assistance of the local community psychiatric nurse. A referral was then made to the psychiatric service."

He said that as a result she had been identified as a victim of Alzheimer's with progressing dementia which had affected her short term memory.

She herself was in a neglected state at that stage but was now receiving help and support and was on medication which was improving her condition, he said.

"It is a shame that she had let not only herself but her dogs get into this condition and I know that is something which causes her great distress," Mr Burrows added.

Disqualifying her indefinitely from keeping any animals, the magistrates told her she would not have to pay any financial penalty or costs because of the sad background to her case.