By . Jill Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 10:56 EST, 2 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:11 EST, 2 October 2012 . A dog owner suffocated her four-week-old puppy instead of taking it to a vet because it was suffering from constipation. Sandra Walker, 52, smothered the female Shih Tzu because it was in pain with constipation. The dog was whimpering in agony but instead of taking her to a vet Walker suffocated her with a pillow, a court heard. 'Cruel': Sandra Walker, seen left, smothered the female puppy - a Shih Tzu similar to the dog pictured right - because it was suffering from constipation . Walker, of Plymouth, Devon, admitted . causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal between April 25 and . April 30 this year. The offence took place at her former home in Bulwell, Nottingham, Plymouth Magistrates Court heard. John Wyatt, for the RSPCA, said an inspector visited her following a complaint about four puppies. Three were found bloated at the property but when asked about a fourth she admitted it had died the previous night. The . dog’s body was exhumed from where it had been buried in the back garden . and a post-mortem examination showed it had been suffocated. Andrea Parsons, for Walker, said: She felt as if she did what she did at the time purely to relieve the dog from its suffering.' Magistrates banned her from keeping animals for two years. She was ordered to pay £1,000 costs. Fined: Walker was banned from keeping animals for two years and ordered to pay £1,000 costs when she appeared before magistrates in Plymouth . An RSPCA spokesman described the case as a 'sad and shocking'. 'Suffocating an animal would almost certainly cause immense suffering and would be a very inhumane way to end its life,' the spokesman said. 'Killing by suffocation can take several minutes, which would have further added to the animal's distress. 'Animals, like humans, can and do fall sick from time to time but without consulting a vet or other animal professional it would be impossible to say whether the Shih Tzu would have needed to be put to sleep in a humane way or could have been easily treated. 'Under the Animal Welfare Act every pet owner has a legal duty of care to their animal and must seek appropriate vet attention.'
The four-week-old puppy was whimpering in agony but instead of taking her to a vet Walker suffocated her with a pillow, a court heard .
By . Jill Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 10:56 EST, 2 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:11 EST, 2 October 2012 . A dog owner suffocated her four-week-old puppy instead of taking it to a vet because it was suffering from constipation. Sandra Walker, 52, smothered the female Shih Tzu because it was in pain with constipation. The dog was whimpering in agony but instead of taking her to a vet Walker suffocated her with a pillow, a court heard. 'Cruel': Sandra Walker, seen left, smothered the female puppy - a Shih Tzu similar to the dog pictured right - because it was suffering from constipation . Walker, of Plymouth, Devon, admitted . causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal between April 25 and . April 30 this year. The offence took place at her former home in Bulwell, Nottingham, Plymouth Magistrates Court heard. John Wyatt, for the RSPCA, said an inspector visited her following a complaint about four puppies. Three were found bloated at the property but when asked about a fourth she admitted it had died the previous night. The . dog’s body was exhumed from where it had been buried in the back garden . and a post-mortem examination showed it had been suffocated. Andrea Parsons, for Walker, said: She felt as if she did what she did at the time purely to relieve the dog from its suffering.' Magistrates banned her from keeping animals for two years. She was ordered to pay £1,000 costs. Fined: Walker was banned from keeping animals for two years and ordered to pay £1,000 costs when she appeared before magistrates in Plymouth . An RSPCA spokesman described the case as a 'sad and shocking'. 'Suffocating an animal would almost certainly cause immense suffering and would be a very inhumane way to end its life,' the spokesman said. 'Killing by suffocation can take several minutes, which would have further added to the animal's distress. 'Animals, like humans, can and do fall sick from time to time but without consulting a vet or other animal professional it would be impossible to say whether the Shih Tzu would have needed to be put to sleep in a humane way or could have been easily treated. 'Under the Animal Welfare Act every pet owner has a legal duty of care to their animal and must seek appropriate vet attention.'
four-week-old puppy instead of taking it to a vet was whimpering in agony but instead of taking her to a vet Walker suffocated her with a pillow, a