ON TRIAL: Dog dies after being left without food or water before Christmas on the Costa del Sol

PROSECUTORS have called for a woman to be jailed for one year if found guilty of leaving two dogs without food or water for several days, causing one to die.

Prosecutors claimed in the defendant left her crossbreed dog and another man’s Chihuahua in her Alhaurin el Grande home shortly before Christmas in 2015. The woman had been asked to look after the man’s Chihuahua, Prosecutors told Malaga City’s Fifth Criminal Court.

Prosecution documents claimed the woman left her home two days before Christmas, leaving the dogs behind.

A neighbour contacted police after hearing one of the dogs barking constantly and after noticing a smell coming from the house.

Officers arrived to find the two dogs inside, covered in dirt, without food, drink, ventilation or sunlight. One dog was dead while the other was malnourished and dehydrated.

The defendant was due to stand trial in June last year but it was later postponed to Tuesday when it opened.