Monthly Archives: January 2021

Cats

Scarborough, North Yorkshire: Sarah Nassau

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CONVICTED (2021) | Sarah Louise Nassau, born c. 1981, of Sandringham Street, Scarborough YO12 7QD – failed to seek veterinary treatment for her cat’s flea allergy

Sarah Nassau failed to get treatment for her cat Minnie's severe flea allergy
Sarah Nassau failed to get treatment for her cat Minnie’s severe flea allergy

Sarah Louise Nassau was found guilty in her absence of causing unnecessary suffering to her pet cat, known as Minnie.

On Friday 18 October, 2019, the RSPCA was called to a vet practice in Scarborough as vets raised concerns about a cat in their care.

The underweight cat had fur loss, scabs on her back and was constantly licking and grooming herself
The underweight cat had fur loss, scabs on her back and was constantly licking and grooming herself

Inspector Claire Little attended and was presented with the female tortoiseshell cat who had fur loss, scabs on her back and was constantly licking and grooming herself.

Inspector Little said: “The vets explained to me that the cat had previously been brought in by a member of the public eight days earlier as she was suffering from fur loss and irritated skin.

The vets had contacted the owner via the microchip and the owner had collected the cat. At this time the owner had been advised to have the cat examined by a vet, however, the owner had not done so, stating at the time of collection that she was treating the cat at home with a medicated gel.

Inspector Little continued: “Poor Minnie had a severe flea allergy which had caused sores on her skin and significant fur loss. She was also underweight, weighing 2.9kg which is 1kg less than she should. It was evident from her fur loss and the way she was licking and grooming herself that she was uncomfortable and suffering.”

The court heard how the vet who examined Minnie said her waist was pinched in and they could easily feel her ribs and spine. They also observed extensive dermatitis, all across her back and around her neck.

There was evidence of hair loss which the vet explained suggested she had been extremely itchy and resorted to pulling her fur out. She was also suffering from multiple small areas of infection on the skin, with yellow coloured lesions.

A number of live fleas were also observed on examination which led the vet to believe the cause of the skin issue was a severe flea allergy.

The court also heard that the vet said the fur loss was obvious to the naked eye and they would expect anyone to have recognised that the cat needed veterinary attention.

The suffering endured by Minnie could have easily been prevented if the owner had sought veterinary advice sooner, the vet said in a statement.

In mitigation, Nassau maintained that she had done the best she could under difficult financial circumstances. She did not oppose the disqualification order being imposed as she stated she could not afford to keep any pets. It was also stated that she did not attend court before the warrant was issued due to Coronavirus difficulties at home.

Minnie has recovered well in RSPCA care and will be available for rehoming soon.

Sentencing: ordered to pay a total of £252 in fines, costs and charges. Banned from keeping all animals for two years (expires January 2023). A deprivation order was also imposed for Minnie.

York Press

Dogs, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers

Newry, County Down: Joseph Magee

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CONVICTED (2021) | Joseph Patrick Magee, born 12 August 1987, of St Marys Street, Newry BT34 2AA – struck a guide dog and assaulted her owner

Magee, who has a lengthy criminal record, was sent to prison for seven months, after admitting the attack on the 73-year-old partially sighted man and his dog, alongside theft charges.

Sentencing Magee the deputy district judge told him: “This partially sighted man did not know what to expect at his door. He did not expect to be assaulted.

“He did not expect his guide dog to be struck in the belly, all in the presence of his wife. You have a very bad criminal record. It would appear everything else has been tried and a custodial sentence is appropriate in this case.”

Armagh I

Cats

Chelmsford, Essex: Karen Howell

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CONVICTED (2021) | Karen Howell (aka Karen Berry), born 24 April 1966, of Ockelford Avenue, Chelmsford CM1 2AP – left her cat to be eaten alive by maggots

Karen Howell and the cat she allowed to suffer with untreated flystrike
Karen Howell allowed her pet cat Sonny’s flystrike to become so severe, he had to be put down on humane grounds

Mother-of-two Karen Howell admitted causing unnecessary suffering to her male cat, named Sonny, under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act.

The RSPCA prosecuted Howell after being alerted by Howell’s vet who had euthanised Sonny on humane grounds.

Howell had taken the cat to the vets on September 10, 2020, and initially lied that he had been fine that morning.

The vets called the RSPCA and inspector Chloe Frost visited to see pictures they had taken of Sonny.

She was shown a video of the maggot infestation in the wound and was told of the smell it emitted which was very distressing.

Following the sentencing hearing Inspector Frost said: “It was clear this poor cat was in extreme distress. The level of tissue damage in the wound suggested that Sonny had been left like this for a long time.

“Flystrike can come on quickly, but Sonny must have been in pain for at least three days, which is heartbreaking as this could have been easily solved if it had been dealt with in good time.

“We would always urge people to contact their local vet if their animal is unwell, under the Animal Welfare Act we do have a duty to care for animals we are responsible for. There is help out there for people struggling.”

Sentencing: 80 hours of community service; a total of £395 in costs and charges.

Echo

Dogs, Domestic Violence - Animals Targeted, Lifers, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Wavertree, Liverpool: Joshua Edge

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CONVICTED (2021) | Joshua Edge, born c. 1993, most recently (2022) of Goswell Street, Wavertree, Liverpool L15 – stabbed a dog during a horrific domestic violence incident

Joshua Edge attacked a dog with a knife during a violent attack on his partner
Joshua Edge has a lengthy criminal record and a history of violence

Serial domestic abuser. drug addict and career criminal Joshua Edge picked up a kitchen knife and slashed nine-year-old West Highland Terrier Alfie to the neck when the dog started barking.

Edge had already hit his then partner, Ellie Carr, over the head with a piece of gym equipment and would later punch her in the face.

Lydia Durkin, prosecuting, explained that the pair had been together for 18 months when the incident took place on Boxing Day 2020.

At around 3am in the morning “both parties had been drinking alcohol”, Ms Durkin told the court.

She said there was a “verbal argument on the street” between the couple when Edge picked up “gym equipment” from a nearby garden and “struck her to her head, causing a two inch laceration”.

Ms Durkin explained Edge left on foot while Ms Carr returned to a relatives’ address before going back to her Everton home at around 6am.

Ms Carr found Edge inside, and noticed a kitchen knife in the same room.

The court heard Edge called her a “slag” and asked her to leave, after which they began to row.

Mr Durkin said: “The complainant’s mother’s dog, a nine-year-old Westie, tried to position himself between the defendant and the complainant and growled.”

Edge then “approached the kitchen knife” before he stabbed the dog to his neck “causing a significant laceration and bleeding”.

Joshua Edge

After attacking the pet, Edge punched Ms Carr to the head and was kicking her to the left leg, causing bruising.

Ms Durkin explained police were called and Edge made off, but was later found and arrested, at which point he said: “I f****d up”.

When he was arrested officers also found a small snap bag of cannabis.

Edge, of no fixed abode, but formerly of Wavertree, has 16 previous convictions for 28 offences.

In 2015 he was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm after attacking another former partner.

The court heard the dog was taken to an emergency vets but has since recovered.

Edge admitted offences of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, criminal damage, three counts of assault by beating and one count of possession of cannabis.

Chair magistrate Glenys McGill, sentencing, said: “We have taken some time to discuss everything we heard this morning in court about these offences and this is what we feel to be the best way forward.

“We have given you credit for the guilty plea.”

Sentencing: jailed for 25 weeks; victim surcharge of £128. Banned from keeping dogs for life.

Liverpool Echo

Update June 2022

Edge, now of Goswell Street, Wavertree, was back in court after being charged with possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply..

The court heard that Edge has been addicted to Class A drugs for a decade.

Edge said he was forced to deal drugs “under pressure”. Prosecutors accepted he used drugs, but not that he was under pressure.

By now Edge had racked up 17 previous convictions for 29 offences – 15 of them for possessing drugs between 2012 and 2020, but none for drug supply.

In 2015 he was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm after attacking an ex-partner, following a traumatic incident involving their son, who she accidentally rolled onto.

And on Boxing Day 2020 came his attack on another partner and Alfie the Westie.

Following Edge’s latest conviction he was sentenced to 18 months in jail, suspended for two years. He was ordered to carry out a Thinking Skills Programme, 30-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, 12-month Drug Rehabilitation Requirement and 150 hours of unpaid work.

Liverpool Echo

Animal Abandonment, Dogs

Edinburgh: Steven Goddard

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CONVICTED (2021) | Steven Michael Goddard, born 30 January 1991, of Blackfriars Street, Edinburgh EH1 1NB – left his pet dog to starve in squalor

Steven Goddard's dog Rocco was left to starve in squalor
Steven Goddard was jailed after leaving Staffy Rocco to starve in filthy conditions

Steven Goddard pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering after the SSPCA found the starving pooch, known as Rocco, in his filthy home.

The Staffordshire bull terrier was found dehydrated and severely underweight, after a member of the public reported they could hear a dog being hit.

Steven Goddard's dog Rocco was left to starve in squalor
Aside from being emaciated, the neglected dog was suffering from overgrown claws

At the time he was discovered, the “emaciated” animal was found to weigh only 10kg, when he should have been 13kg-17kg.

He was also dehydrated with overgrown claws which would have caused him considerable discomfort.

Steven Goddard's dog Rocco was left to starve in squalor

Scottish SPCA inspector Stuart Murray said: “On gaining entry to the property there was an immediate smell.

“The interior was dark and the floor was covered in piles of faeces, pools of urine and general rubbish.

“Rocco appeared to be in emaciated condition.

“He was dehydrated, his coat smelt badly, and he had a dejected demeanour. Rocco’s claws were approximately half an inch overgrown suggesting a lack of care or exercise.

“Once we took Rocco outside we had to immediately provide him with water as he was so thirsty he was trying to drink from puddles in the street.

“Rocco would have taken at least seven days to reach the emaciated condition he was in, but in reality, would most likely have taken much longer.

“This would have caused him a huge amount of distress and suffering, which would have been largely rectified simply by offering basic care.”

Despite the efforts of the Scottish SPCA, Rocco was later put down after he developed a neurological condition which affected his mobility.

Sentencing: 40 days’ imprisonment. Disqualified from owning a dog for eight years (expires January 2029).

Daily Record
STV News

Additional Information

Goddard is a convicted sex offender, who in 2009 was jailed for five years for child rape.

In February 2021 he was sentenced to eight months in prison after breaching a sexual offences prevention order. The court heard he failed to tell the authorities that he had started a relationship with a woman in Grangemouth.

Dogs

Tiverton, Devon: Mark and Alison Haycock

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CONVICTED (2021) | Mark Haycock, born 30 December 1970, and wife Alison Haycock, born 7 April 1972, of Romans Way, Tiverton EX16 6HB – left their elderly dog with untreated painful scabs and sores

Irresponsible pet owners Mark and Ali Haycock from Tiverton, Devon, are banned from owning animals until 2031
Mark and Ali Haycock are banned from owning animals until 2031 after failing to treat their elderly dog’s ailments

The Haycocks pleaded guilty to animal welfare offences in relation to 13-year-old Sheltie/Shih-Tzu cross Bella. The dog was rescued by the RSPCA after concerns were raised about her health and wellbeing by members of the public.

Hairless Bella was in a pitiful condition when rescued from her neglectful owners by the RSPCA
Hairless Bella was in a pitiful condition when rescued from her neglectful owners by the RSPCA

RSPCA Inspector Charlotte Coggins began an investigation after rescuing Bella from the couple’s home in March 2020.

She said: “I entered the lounge, and the smell of the room was foul.

“This is where I initially saw a dog who I now know as Bella with hardly any fur curled up on the sofa. Bella was scratching a lot, and her skin appeared and smelled infected. Her nails were also very overgrown.”

Hairless Bella was in a pitiful condition when rescued from her neglectful owners by the RSPCA

Bella was taken to a vet who found that she was suffering from a chronic and severe skin disease with associated infection and hair loss. She also had open wounds over the shoulder where she scratched herself and issues with her eyes and ears.

Mrs Haycock had previously taken Bella to see a vet for her skin condition and had been given oral medications and topical treatments, but despite being told the condition was a long-term one that would need monitoring, she was last been seen by a vet in September 2019 and failed to seek help for Bella as her condition deteriorated.

Inspector Coggins added: “A reasonable owner would present the dog, or at least contact the surgery if the dog had failed to improve as a result of any prescribed treatment. It is the failure to follow-up on the initial treatment, which has resulted in her sadly suffering unacceptably.

“Our plea to all animal owners is to make sure they always receive care and treatment from veterinary experts when they need it.

“If people are struggling to cover the costs, there are a number of charities which provide help for veterinary care for pet owners in genuine financial difficulties. People can also work with their vet to spread the cost of treatment.

“Pets are completely reliant on their owners to ensure their needs are met, and they are kept safe and healthy. Owning an animal is a privilege – and ensuring appropriate veterinary care is a key part of the responsibility we have towards our pets. It’s so sad that, in this instance, that responsibility was not met.”

The court heard in mitigation it was well-intentioned but incompetent care and that there is extreme remorse.

Bella has transformed in the RSPCA's care and is to be rehomed
Bella has transformed in the RSPCA’s care and is to be rehomed

Since being rescued, Bella has been receiving the treatment she needs and has been transformed by animal care assistants at the charity. She will now be found a loving new home.

Sentencing:
Alison Haycock – three-year conditional discharge.
Mark Haycock – two-year conditional discharge.
Both were ordered to pay a total of £196 in costs and charges.
Both were banned from owning animals for 10 years (expires January 2031).

In Your Area

Dogs

Southey, Sheffield: Lee Bailey

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CONVICTED (2021) | Lee Michael Tyson Bailey, born 7 April 1989, of 21 Kyle Close, Sheffield S5 8HN – caused unnecessary suffering to a dog.

Lee Bailey - a dog abuser from Sheffield, UK

No further details provided.

Sentencing: community order for 12 hours of unpaid work within 12 months, costs £200, disqualified from keeping animals for three years (expires January 2024).

The Star

Dogs, Domestic Violence - Animals Targeted

St Helens, Merseyside: Ryan Barr

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CONVICTED (2021) | serial domestic abuser Ryan Stephen Barr, born 26 March 1996, of Four Acre Lane, Clock Face, St Helens, an unemployed actor using the stage name Romeo Barr – forced his girlfriend to watch as he beat her dog

Serial domestic abuser and dog beater Ryan/Romeo Barr

Out-of-work actor Barr, who claims (falsely) to have appeared in TV shows Hollyoaks and Waterloo Road, subjected a young Liverpool student to “disgusting” abuse during which he attacked her beloved pet dog while forcing her to watch.

Barr was not prosecuted for animal cruelty and the fate or condition of the dog was not reported.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the pair’s relationship developed quickly but things soon “deteriorated”.

The prosecutor told the court: “The defendant would become aggressive in drink, call her names such as ‘slag’, spit on her and throw things around. This behaviour then began to develop even when the defendant was not in drink.”

Failed actor Ryan 'Romeo' Barr subjected a young woman and her dog to horrific violence

The court heard he was “jealous and controlling”, didn’t want her to go out with friends or attend university, became “angry and moody”, monitored her phone calls and sometimes “took her phone off her, smashing it”.

The victim recalled Barr kicking her to the face as she bent to pick up a towel, after ice cold water was thrown over her while she took a shower, and when she became distressed, he said: “I don’t even feel bad for you crying.”

The prosecutor said the victim described being “hit with a hairbrush or remote control, having her hair pulled, him stubbing out cigarettes on her back or her neck when she was asleep, and an occasion when bleach was poured on her and she described it taking days to remove the smell from her body”.

Failed actor Ryan 'Romeo' Barr subjected a young woman and her dog to horrific violence
Failed actor Ryan ‘Romeo’ Barr subjected a young woman and her dog to horrific violence

The prosecutor added: “He would also hit their dog that they shared and make her watch.”

The final attack came on July 4, 2018, when the victim went to a nightclub in Liverpool.

The prosecutor said: “The defendant saw her, spat at her and bit her jaw, followed the complainant back to the flat where she was staying at university and security staff made him leave.”

She said Barr also “made her take out a number of loans” and after the relationship ended, “bombarded” her with texts and calls, “some apologetic declaring his love for her, others abusive, using words regularly like slut”.

Barr, who admitted controlling and coercive behaviour, was previously convicted of common assault against the same victim.

He received a community order on May 17, 2018 and was then twice convicted of failing to comply with its requirements.

Serial domestic abuser and dog beater Ryan/Romeo Barr pictured in December 2022. Picture: Facebook.
Ryan/Romeo Barr pictured in December 2022

Barr’s lawyer told the court her client realised he needed help and his guilty pleas spared his victim having to give evidence at a trial.

She said jailing him would “do nothing to address the risk of future offending” and the report found his community order had a “positive effect” in the two years since, meaning there was “a realistic prospect of rehabilitation”.

She said Barr was awaiting a DBS check to start a new job with Amazon.

The lawyer said he lived with his nan due to “trauma” experienced as a child and she was dependent on his care.

Serial domestic abuser and dog beater Ryan/Romeo Barr

Judge Menary said some of the violence was “particularly nasty” and Barr was “jealous for no good reason”.

He said: “Much of the relationship was marked by appalling and disgraceful behaviour on your part.

“You were overbearing towards her, abusive, threatening, violent.

“You abused her financially in terms of taking out unnecessary and excessive loans, which plainly she has now been saddled with.

“The aggression and violence towards her was at times particularly unpleasant, involving for example stubbing a cigarette on her neck, or pouring bleach on her.”

He told Barr it wasn’t surprising “she is a changed person because of her experience with you”.

However, the judge said Barr hadn’t offended since, was still young, had a new job and his nan relied on his support.

Failed actor Ryan 'Romeo' Barr subjected a young woman and her dog to horrific violence

Judge Menary said Barr’s behaviour needed to be further addressed by the Probation Service, adding: “What they’ve done is already bearing fruit. I hope that carries on.”

He handed Barr 15 months in jail, suspended for 18 months, a 20-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 150 hours of unpaid work.

The judge ordered him to pay £500 in compensation to the victim and imposed a two-year restraining order.

Liverpool Echo

Additional Information

Barr’s online bio describes him as ‘CEO’ of a clothing company called MUSÉ London. The business’s now defunct Instagram page, which had just four followers, hadn’t been updated for several months. Its website has also disappeared and Facebook profile deactivated.

On 26 January 2021 national newspaper The Daily Star revealed that Ryan Barr is a fantasist whose entire acting career was fabricated.

Dogs

Ballingry, Fife: Gail and James Harrison

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CONVICTED (2021) | Gail Riley Harrison (née Middleton), born c. 1969, and James A Harrison, born 29 October 1961, both of 7 Kirktoun Street, Ballingry, Lochgelly KY5 8NU – left their young Great Dane-cross to suffer with a catalogue of health conditions

Animal abusers James and Gail Harrison and victim Archie
The court heard that Jimmy and Gail Harrison didn’t understand their responsibilities to care for Archie (pictured)

Gail and James ‘Jimmy’ Harrison both admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the two-year-old dog, known as Archie, by failing to provide adequate care and treatment for his many ailments.

These included chronic and severe skin conditions, limb and feet conditions including alopecia, erythema, pruritus, pyoderma, bruising, ulceration, bleeding and overgrown nails.

The pair’s appalling neglect of Archie came to light after a workman visiting their home was concerned at the dog’s condition and reported the matter to the Scottish SPCA. The animal charity attended and took Archie into their care.

Great Dane cross Archie pictured around January 2019
Great Dane cross Archie pictured around January 2019

Defence solicitor Alexander Flett said: “It truly is a case of neglect and not deliberate cruelty. They didn’t understand the responsibilities involved.”

Sentencing: fined £200 each. Banned from keeping or being in control of a dog for five years (expires January 2026).

Central Fife Times

Dogs, Pet Profiteering, puppy farmers / traffickers, kennels, backyard breeders, Traveller Animal Crimes

Coalville, Leicestershire: Ellis Hopkins

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CONVICTED (2021) | puppy farmer Ellis Hopkins aka Ellis Hopkins-Elton, born 15 December 2000, of Bardon Lodge, Beveridge Lane, Bardon Hill, Coalville LE67 1TB – sold sick and dying puppies to the public

Puppy farmer Ellis Hopkins
Ellis Hopkins is no longer licensed to breed puppies after several animal welfare breaches at her kennels

Traveller and professional boxer Ellis Hopkins sold poorly, underweight puppies under the name Bardon Bullies. Very sadly one of the puppies died shortly after being bought.

Licensed dog breeder Hopkins, who specialised in French bulldogs and American pocket bullies, was investigated for a number of breaches of dog breeding regulations. This followed reports to the RSPCA by three witnesses that puppies that were up for sale were underweight, lethargic and living in dirty conditions with animal waste on the floor.

Ellis Hopkins advertised French bulldogs for sale on Instagram
Hopkins flogged the puppies she churned out to her followers on Instagram

Dogs that had been sold became ill shortly after they were taken to their new homes and one died.

North West Leicestershire District Council has now revoked Hopkins’ breeding licence.

Councillor Andrew Woodman said: “Our licensing teams play an important role in ensuring animal welfare standards are met in the district and will always respond to concerns and complaints raised by the public.

“It is clear that this breeder had no respect for their licence or the dogs they had a responsibility for and I’m sure our communities will join me in applauding our officers for the action they have taken.”

There were several regulations she was found to have breached.

They included breeding more than her licence allowed and providing misleading information to officers investigating her.

Puppy farmer Ellis Hopkins from Coalville, Leicestershire, UK

During a routine inspection in July 2020, Hopkins failed to provide council officers with records of litters, which are required under animal welfare law.

Puppies were also sold without records of vaccinations, vet checks, or being given flea and worm treatments.

Puppy farmer Ellis Hopkins from Coalville, Leicestershire, UK

She had been limited to one litter at a time and no more than five per year, with one litter per female. But during a visit by Leicestershire Police to Hopkins’ home in September 2020, they found 38 dogs, which included puppies from at least five different litters.

She had also bred at least two of her female dogs twice within a 12-month period. The animals should not have been bred more than once a year to protect them from pain, suffering, injury and disease, according to her licence.

Sentencing; licence revoked; not yet prosecuted for animal cruelty.

Leicester Mercury

Additional Information

Ellis Hopkins is a professional boxer signed to MTK Global. She is trained by Asgar Tair, who also trains Tyson Fury.

Hopkins’ father, Elvis Hopkins – head coach at Kings Gym in Leicester – also breeds dogs, which he advertises for sale on his Facebook profile.