A SOCIAL worker has been given a court bill of nearly £900 after the RSPCA alerted dog wardens to the condition of her pet.

Suzanne Danon, 51, declined to collect Dixie, her Lhaso Apso dog, when workers from the animal charity's Landing Lane HQ in York rang her at work to tell her it had been found straying, the city's magistrates were told.

RSPCA workers also contacted City of York Council's dog wardens when they noticed the condition of the dog's eyes.

That led to the council prosecuting mental health social worker Danon for animal neglect.

Danon, of Beech Avenue, Bishopthorpe, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure proper veterinary treatment for Dixie.

Magistrates conditionally discharged her for two years and ordered her to pay the council's costs of £887, including a vet's fees and kennelling costs.

The court heard Danon had agreed to have the dog rehomed and it now had a new owner.

Prosecuting for City of York Council, Liz Levett said the dog had information on it giving Danon's contact details. But when the charity contacted the owner at work, she refused to come and collect the animal. Dixie was suffering from a chronic condition in both eyes that included corneal scabbing and other symptoms.

A vet treated the condition on behalf of the council, but said that the dog would have permanent scabbing that might have been caused by a lack of treatment.

For Danon, Sandra Keen said she could not collect the dog because she worked in Leeds and there was no-one available to act on her behalf.

The dog had strayed because it had been accidentally locked out by one of her children.

She had taken the dog to a vet when she lived in Leeds and had been treating it with cream.

But the pressures of moving to the York area in April led to her omitting to take the dog to a vet again.

Updated: 11:47 Wednesday, December 04, 2002