CONVICTED (2023) | professional dog-sitter Janine Maloney, aka Janine Malone, born 27 May 1974, of Maesteg Road, Tondu, Bridgend CF32 0DP – caused the deaths of two dogs in her care by leaving them in a hot vehicle.
Maloney, owner of Pet Patrol Club, left four-year-old French bulldogs Lila and Phab in her car, believed to be a Kia Sorento, where they died from heat stroke or heat stress.
The two dogs died in temperatures of between 16C and 22C.
In a statement from the RSPCA, deputy chief inspector Gemma Black said she met with the owner of the two dogs who was “very emotional about what had happened.”
DCI Black added: “She (the owner) told me that Ms Maloney had returned to her address on Sunday 5 September 2021 with the dogs dead.
“She told me that Ms Maloney claimed to have left them in the car during the Sunday, during hot weather and she believed this was how they died.”
On the day, temperatures ranged between 16C at 10am and 22C at 5pm, with the dogs dying sometime during that timeframe.
The dogs had been left in the car without water or air conditioning and without any windows left open.
In written evidence, a vet said they believed the dogs “have been caused to suffer” and their needs “have not been met to the extent required by good practice”.
The evidence described how the two dogs had been left in the car without any access to water, with no windows open or air conditioning.
The statement added: “The post mortem evidence showed that both dogs were found to have pathology changes consistent with having died via a mechanism of heat stroke/stress, having a number of haemorrhagic areas in the body.
“Both dogs were French Bulldogs having a shortened nose anatomy (brachycephalic) that had also been affected by Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS). They were also both overweight which likely contributed to their susceptibility to heat stress.
“Undoubtedly the two dogs would have suffered as a consequence of excessive heat in the car under the circumstances of an external environmental temperature above 20C, poor ventilation and no access to water.
“Suffering will have been experienced by these two dogs via a mechanism of escalating respiratory distress and an inability to effectively dissipate body heat.”
In court, Maloney pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the dogs and failing to meet their needs.
The court heard she has since closed the business.
The District Judge said there was a “blatant lack of care” on the part of Maloney who had done nothing on the day and did not check on the dogs.
Speaking after sentencing DCI Black, said: “I would like to thank my colleagues, inspector Julie Fadden and deputy chief inspector Gemma Cooper, for their work on this heart-breaking case – and all of our thoughts go out to the owner of Lila and Phab.
“We hope this tragic case reminds people that the risk to the lives of animals is so high.
“Our message is simple: never leave a dog in a hot car – ‘not long’ is too long, and if you see a dog in a hot car, call 999 immediately.”
Sentencing | 16-week suspended prison sentence; 15 day Rehabilitation Activity requirement; six month alcohol programme; £500 in costs and £500 compensation to the dog owner. Disqualified from keeping dogs for five years.
Update | February 2024
Maloney appeared again at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on February 20, 2024, after she pleaded guilty to breaching a ban between May and July 2023 and again in December 2023.
The RSPCA, prosecuting, told the court it had obtained evidence that Maloney was breaching her ban by owning a dog and was also caring for other people’s dogs.
Maloney, now of Bridgend Road, Aberkenfig, received 18 weeks’ custody and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154. An order was put in place for her dog Badger to be rehomed within 14 days. She is also banned from keeping dogs from February 6, 2023.
RSPCA Press Release 28 February 2024
Bridgend woman jailed for 18 weeks after breaching disqualification order
RSPCA obtained evidence showing she had dogs in her care
A Bridgend woman has been jailed after she admitted breaching a disqualification order where she had been banned from keeping dogs for five years.
Janine Maloney (d.o.b 27/05/1974) of Bridgend Road, Aberkenfig, appeared at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on 20 February after previously pleading guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act on 15 December 2023.
The first offence related to a breach of ban between 21 May and 6 July 2023 – the second offence related to a further breach on 9 December 2023. The court heard that the RSPCA obtained evidence that she was breaching her ban by owning a dog and was also caring for other people’s dogs.
Maloney was seen having a dog with her whilst having a meeting, she was seen accepting two dogs and all their belongings from a third party before driving off with them in her car, and was seen walking a dog believed to be hers from a car to a flat.
Maloney was handed a disqualification order in respect to dogs for five years by Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on 6 February 2023.
She was also handed a suspended sentence order back in 2023, which at the sentencing hearing on 20 February, was activated in part, which resulted in Maloney having a 12 week custodial sentence imposed.
She was also sentenced to a further four weeks custody – to run consecutively for the first offence – and another two weeks custody for the second offence. Therefore the total custodial sentence was 18 weeks.
Maloney was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154 and an order for her dog Badger was made depriving her ownership. A family friend was appointed to rehome Badger within 14 days.
In addition, a new disqualification order banning her from keeping dogs for five years was imposed, with the time to contest the order made at three years.
In mitigation it was heard that she had a dependence on dogs for emotional support which has developed over years and there was no actual harm caused in the two breach cases. The court heard that she now understands the order.
In sentencing, the judge in the case said: “My view is this is a flagrant and deliberate breach where you have chosen to deliberately ignore the order. Your offending continued even after a summons was served upon you.”
RSPCA Deputy Chief Inspector Gemma Cooper said: “We’d like to thank those who helped us in our investigations.
“It is important to reiterate to the public that we rely on them to tell us if someone has breached a ban. We depend on the public to be our eyes and ears and we take breaches of bans very seriously – as do the courts.”
Additional Information
On 28 February 2024 – the same day that Janine Maloney was finally put behind bars – Steph Pendleton, the owner of Lila and Phab, wrote the following post on Facebook alleging that the prosecution case against Maloney was essentially the tip of the iceberg.
She said: “The RSPCA press release about JM [Janine Maloney] today can only report the overview and custodial sentence. There is a much wider picture here.
“My girls were never coming home but I knew this woman was a danger to families and pets. It was about doing the right thing:: justice, protection, prevention and awareness.
“She has never shown any remorse, quite the opposite, and we were subject to indirect and direct bullying, intimidation and harassment in order to drop the case.
“She is a master at manipulation and lying.
“I shall answer below the most asked questions.
- JM s elderly mother who she blamed for the death of my dogs is safe and being well looked after now as JM was her carer.
- The death of my girls was no accident. They suffered as the autopsies showed. The cruelty and neglect started as soon as they were put into her care under the trading name of Pet Patrol. In reality they were kept where the other animals were rescued from.
- She pleaded guilty to 2 offences under the Animal Welfare Act,the evidence was overwhelming remember.
- Obtaining animals by deception has been done under Jo Byrne, one of the names she uses.
- One parrot a family had possessed for 35 years and they had been searching for her for months.
- Polly was rescued from JMs home traumatised and hungry. She sleeps a lot at the mo but shes home now.🤞for her recovery.
- When she started a new company Move my Horse using the name Jo Byrne the calls started to come in:
– obtaining money and not turning up
– childs pony injured
– driving while under the influence etc etc. - Defra and the police have ongoing criminal investigations.
- She continued to flout the law, working and keeping dogs, contrary to probation conditions.
- She claimed at her last court appearance to have one dog still in her care which breached her conditions. But on Friday after a call by the family friend to the RSPCA they were asked to rescue her other animals!! ?? What animals ?
- At her home in terrible filthy conditions, floors, walls, you could barely breath were 8 dogs, sliders and a parrot in various conditions. Starving and thirsty of course.
- They then had to rescue her horses and sheep.
- Gemma Cooper of the RSPCA has worked tirelessly to ensure that justice mattered for the girls and that other animals have been protected.
- You also have other families and pets that have been affected by her actions but its not for me to name them but to thank our community for doing the right thing 👍
- I’m sure she will return to her old ways and use another name when released from prison. She does not care about anyone, anything or the law so we need to make people aware of her.”
Being A Dog / Pet Sitter.
She Should Have Known Better.