Category Archives: Pet Sitters, Dog Walkers, Boarding Kennels

Cats, Dogs, Multiple Species, Pet Profiteering, Pet Sitters, Dog Walkers, Boarding Kennels, puppy farmers / traffickers, kennels, backyard breeders

Brompton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire: Linda and John Moran, and Stephen Laidlaw

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CONVICTED (2023) | Crufts-winning dog breeder and pet boarder Linda Moran, her husband John Moran, and relative Stephen Laidlaw all of A1 Boarding Kennels and Cattery, Thorpe House, Gatherley Road, Brompton On Swale, Richmond DL10 7JH – kept more than 100 animals in stinking, dirty and inadequate conditions.

Animal abuser Linda Moran of A1 Boarding Kennels and Cattery, Brompton On Swale, Richmond, North Yorkshire. Picture: Facebook

Local authority animal welfare inspectors visiting the premises of Linda and John Moran’s kennels and cattery found scores of dogs and three cats whose care was so poor they immediately revoked the dog breeding and dog and cat boarding licences held for the premises.

Premises of A1 Boarding Kennels and Cattery, in Brompton on Swale, North Yorkshire, where animals suffered horrific neglect.

Amy Wennington, prosecuting for North Yorkshire Council, said its inspectors and a vet found more than 100 dogs at the premises in accommodation reeking of urine, with piles of dog poo, missing or inadequate bedding, and contaminated or no water.

There was no evidence that the dogs had been exercised or groomed or had access to play items.

Some of the dogs had matted and filthy hair.

There were also three cats, two of whom were in such poor medical condition they had to be put down.

Animal abuser Linda Moran of A1 Boarding Kennels and Cattery, Brompton On Swale, Richmond, North Yorkshire. Picture: Facebook

Linda Moran, who bred Dogues de Bordeaux and Lhaso Apsos under the name Aibrean, pleaded guilty to six charges of breaching her licence conditions: two involved having too many dogs without sufficient staff to look after them, two of keeping dogs in unfit accommodation and not caring correctly for them, and two of not providing toys, socialising opportunities and grooming.

York magistrates heard she exhibited her own dogs and won awards at dog shows around the country, including two at Crufts 2022, six months before the first of two inspections.

For Linda Moran, John Goodwin said: “Her whole life centres around the love and care of dogs.”

He said that conditions at the kennels and cattery had deteriorated because she had taken in a lot of rescue dogs after the pandemic.

“She just couldn’t say no and matters overwhelmed her,” he said.

Her husband John Moran, who was also on the dog breeding licence, had moved to Spain for a better climate as he has terminal lung cancer.

Animal abuser Linda Moran of A1 Boarding Kennels and Cattery, Brompton On Swale, Richmond, North Yorkshire. Picture: Facebook

Moran is now working with the RSPCA to reduce the number of dogs on her site and to ensure they are looked after properly, said the solicitor.

She now has 22 dogs and is expecting to reduce the number to 17 in the next six months. She is not taking in rescue dogs, said the solicitor.

He handed in an expert’s report giving details of conditions at the kennels and cattery in July 2023, which concluded that Linda Moran could look after dogs properly.

Magistrates ordered her to pay a total of £3,190, consisting of £2,100 fines, a £840 statutory surcharge and £250 prosecution costs.

They declined a prosecution application to ban her from keeping animals.

They said Moran had taken sufficient action to ensure that she was addressing the issues that had given rise to the prosecution and she was no longer taking in rescue dogs.

John Moran pleaded guilty by letter to three charges of breaching the boarding licence regarding the number of dogs on the premises, their living conditions and their care, was fined £1,050 and ordered to pay a £420 statutory surcharge and £250 prosecution costs.

Stephen Laidlaw was not present in court and did not enter a plea to three charges of breaching the breeding licence. The court heard that although he jointly held the breeding licence with Linda Moran, the council’s inspectors had never seen him on the site. He was convicted in his absence and was ordered to pay a £1,500 fine, a £600 statutory surcharge and £250 prosecution costs.

In April 2023 North Yorkshire Council announced that A1 Boarding Kennels and Cattery was no longer licenced either for the breeding of dogs or kennelling of cats. It was also reported that the business is the subject of an investigation into suspected modern slavery. offences

York Press

Additional Information

In 2005 the same premises was raided by RSPCA officers and 70 animals taken from the centre while investigations were carried out.

Ultimately the RSPCA decided not to prosecute the Morans with the couple going on to take legal action against the animal charity on the grounds that they lost business and suffered emotional trauma.

The RSPCA was called to the kennels by police on December 15, 2005, after a customer who called in to pick up their cat failed to find anyone on the premises.

Police found Linda Moran collapsed in the house and she was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Police officers then called in the RSPCA, whose inspectors said the conditions they found many of the animals in were “deplorable”.

Speaking at the time, Gerry Palmer, of the RSPCA, said: “It’s poor quality, dirty conditions that we found the dogs in. There were dogs running all over the place.”

In an exclusive interview with local newspaper The Northern Echo the Morans claimed the dogs had only been left unattended for one night.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said: “We are not pursuing a prosecution. Officers worked extremely hard at the scene in a bid to safeguard the welfare of those animals in very trying circumstances.

The outcome of the Morans’ case against the RSPCA is not known but recent anecdotal evidence on social media points to animal welfare being of very low priority at A1 Boarding Kennels and Cattery with many former customers raising concerns about the treatment of their pets .

Animal Abandonment, Birds, Cats, Dogs, Equine Abuse, Fish, Hoarders, horses and ponies, Lifers, Multiple Species, Pet Sitters, Dog Walkers, Boarding Kennels, rabbits, Serial Animal Abusers, Small Furries

Kettering, North Northamptonshire: Lee Howard

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CONVICTED (2023) | serial animal hoarder and abuser Lee Howard, aka Lee Howard-Smith, born 12 August 1966, previously of Middlesbrough but at the date of his latest conviction of Scott Road, Kettering NN16 9JY – kept animals in faeces-ridden home despite lifetime ban.

Serial animal hoarder and abuser Lee Howard originally from Middlesbrough, now of Kettering, Northants.

Howard was banned from keeping animals for life in 2006 after leaving 13 horses and ponies, 11 hens, four dogs and a rabbit to die of thirst and starvation in Trimdon, County Durham. The animals had been locked inside stables and left to die. Three dogs survived by eating the remains of the dead animals.

In March 2006 Howard was sentenced to six months in jail and banned from keeping animals for the rest of his life.

Just a few months later Howard was back in court after it was discovered he was keeping 11 dogs and 16 birds at a house in Delarden Road, Pallister Park, Middlesbrough.

The animals were kept in squalid conditions, with the dogs running around in piles of faeces and pools of urine. Six of them had problems with their paws and one had an ear infection.

Howard was given a further six-month jail term for breaching his ban.

Now Howard has received a suspended prison sentence after working as a paid pet-sitter. A licensed dog breeder that had used his services happened to see his name and photograph on an animal cruelty website and reported him to the RSPCA.

Animals were kept in squalor by serial animal hoarder and abuser Lee Howard originally from Middlesbrough, now of Kettering, Northants.

On January 6, 2023, police officers and an RSPCA inspector searched Howard’s home in Scott Road, Kettering, and found yet more animals living in filthy conditions without access to water.

Confined in the kitchen was a Boston terrier dog called Harriet, who Howard said he was looking after for a friend.

The floor of the kitchen was covered in faeces and there was no access to water and no proper bedding.

Animals were kept in squalor by serial animal hoarder and abuser Lee Howard originally from Middlesbrough, now of Kettering, Northants.

Bird cages were found in the lounge, with one containing an Amazon green parrot called Jud and the other housing two cockatiels called Paxo and Stuffing. Both cages were dirty with old food, faeces and no fresh water. Fish tanks with goldfish and tropical fish were also found.

Animals were kept in squalor by serial animal hoarder and abuser Lee Howard originally from Middlesbrough, now of Kettering, Northants.

Two female cats called Sooty and Blacky were discovered in a bedroom described as ‘almost floor to ceiling’ with belongings and old cages and tanks.

The floor was caked in faeces and both cats were infested with fleas.

Serial hoarder and abuser Lee Howard's animal care certificates

Police also seized documents from as far back as 2012 with breeding and pedigree certificates, animal course certificates and even a judging education certificate from The Kennel Club found in a frame.

The dog, Harriet, was later taken back to her owner who was not aware of any animal welfare incidents relating to Howard. The court heard he had been looking after her since 2017.

Animals were kept in squalor by serial animal hoarder and abuser Lee Howard originally from Middlesbrough, now of Kettering, Northants.

The court heard that in his role as a pet-sitter for the breeder Howard had control of 15 dogs, four chickens and numerous finch-like birds and would be paid £35 a day. He looked after the animals on at least 15 occasions between August 2021 and August 2022 – including the odd overnight stay – and was even listed as a keyholder on the man’s council animal welfare licence.

In court, Howard pleaded guilty to failing to take reasonable steps to ensure animal needs were met and breaching a disqualification from keeping animals.

Mitigating, Sewli Kuddus said Howard suffers from physical and mental health issues and has problems with self-care.

She said he has no family and has only recently been given a carer.

She said: “He had no-one to say to him ‘what you are doing is wrong’.”

Speaking after the case, RSPCA inspector Susan Haywood said: “I hope that now that he has been sentenced by the court the defendant will learn from this experience and not get animals which he clearly is unable to look after properly.”

Sentencing | 18 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months. 20 rehabilitation activity days; costs of £400 plus £154 victim surcharge. Howard was also handed another lifetime ban from keeping animals and cannot apply to have it lifted for 10 years.

Northamptonshire Telegraph

Dogs, Lifers, Pet Sitters, Dog Walkers, Boarding Kennels, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers

Ellesmere Port, Cheshire: Amanda Le Bretton

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CONVICTED | Amanda Le Bretton, born April 1967, owner of Home from Home Dog Retreat, Ellesmere Port – caught on camera hitting and kicking dogs in her care.

Cheshire dog sitter Amanda le Bretton was secretly filmed hitting and kicking customers' pets
Former pet sitter Amanda Le Bretton was seen on spy cameras hitting dogs in her care, kicking one, and grasping a chihuahua by the scruff of her neck

Videos surfaced on social media in July 2022 showing dog boarder Amanda Le Bretton hitting and kicking dogs entrusted into her care. Le Bretton, who now lives in Thailand, lost her dog licence shortly after the videos emerged.

In one of multiple videos, Le Bretton can be seen picking up a dog, called Lou Lou, by her neck, causing her to squeal repeatedly.

Lou Lou’s owner told local newspaper the ECHO she “couldn’t even cry” out of shock when she watched the video.

In another video, Le Bretton can heard saying “he’s p****d all in here now. God’s sake. They’re misbehaving” before she kicks a small white dog who squeals in response.

In another, she bends down to cradle a dog’s face before hitting him. She then holds the dog in mid air by his collar

Cheshire dog sitter Amanda le Bretton was secretly filmed hitting and kicking customers' pets
Le Bretton pleaded guilty to four counts of four charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and was banned from having anything to do with animals for the rest of her life

One of the charges for which Le Bretton was fined related to her picking a toy breed up by the scruff of her neck, causing the dog to squeal. She then hits the dog again as she turns away.

One video shows a group of dogs showing an interest in a patch of floor. In the background Le Bretton can be heard saying “what have you done” before she enters the shot and kicks at two dogs that approach her. She then says “naughty boy Ringo, look at that” and points at what appears to be dog urine on the floor, before she hits a dog.

The court heard from a vet how her actions definitely caused anxiety and compromised the mental welfare of the dogs in her care.

Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “Ms Le Bretton is no longer permitted to run a dog home boarding or day care business.”

Sentencing | fined a total of £3,000 (£750 for each charge) plus £1,235 in prosecution costs and a £190 victim surcharge. Disqualified from owning, keeping and dealing with animals for life.

Liverpool Echo
Wirral Globe
Daily Mail

Dogs, hunts, Pet Sitters, Dog Walkers, Boarding Kennels

Daglingworth, Gloucestershire: Sarah Bliss

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CONVICTED (2023) | Sarah Bliss, age unknown, of Upper Rectory Farm, Daglingworth, Cirencester GL7 7HY – ran an unlicensed boarding kennels business where a dog died from heatstroke.

Cotswold Hunt member Sarah Bliss caused the death of a dog at her illegal boarding kennels business
Cotswold Hunt member Sarah Bliss caused the death of a dog at her illegal boarding kennels business

Bliss, a huntswoman with the Cotswold Hunt, pleaded guilty to boarding dogs at her home address without a licence and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

The court heard a dog named Fig was in the Bliss’s care when boarding in the kennels at her home address in August 2022.

Cotswold Hunt member Sarah Bliss caused the death of a dog at her illegal boarding kennels business

Cotswold District Council said Bliss failed to provide any monitoring of the dogs over a period of six hours during very hot temperatures.

Bliss failed to protect Fig and prevent unnecessary suffering caused by heatstroke – which caused the death of the dog later that day in the vet practice.

Cotswold Hunt member Sarah Bliss caused the death of a dog at her illegal boarding kennels business

She was not licensed to provide kennel boarding for dogs at that time. Mrs Bliss had previously been licensed and despite taking on new bookings, had allowed the licence to lapse without renewing it.

Bliss pleaded guilty to both offences.

The court heard she has since closed the kennels.

Sentencing | fined £2,000 and ordered to pay a £400 victim surcharge.

ITV News

Sarah Bliss’s Instagram account here

Dogs, Pet Sitters, Dog Walkers, Boarding Kennels

Dringhouses, York: Pam Fisher

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CONVICTED (2023)| professional dog walker Pamela Fisher, born c. 1963, of Chaloners Road, Dringhouses, York YO24 2TN – caused the death of a dog by leaving him in her van during a heatwave.

Fisher pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering in relation to a cocker spaniel called Teddy, who died of heatstroke while in her care.

RSPCA prosecutor Phil Brown told the court that Fisher was “grossly negligent in her duty of care to Teddy. As a result of her negligence, unfortunately, the dog suffered and subsequently died.

“We cannot say how much the suffering was. It was extreme, though for a short time we hope.”

According to the Met Office, temperatures in the shade reached 33C in York that day.

Mr Brown said Teddy’s owner arranged for Fisher to collect the dog, walk him and return him home while she was at work on August 11, 2022.

But when she arrived home at 6.10pm, there was no sign of the dog.

She rang Fisher who confirmed she had taken Teddy with other dogs for a walk.

But when she took the other dogs back to their owners, “she had simply forgotten to take Teddy back. Teddy was left inside her van. She carried on with the rest of her day,” said Mr Brown. That had included going to her hairdressers.

By the time she realised her mistake it was too late.

The dog’s owner called in the RSPCA.

Interviewed by an RSPCA inspector, Fisher said she had a standard order for delivering the four dogs she walked that day to their homes. On that day, for some reason, the order was changed, which led to her forgetting to deliver Teddy.

She had run her dog walking business for seven and a half years but had now closed it for good.

A vet statement said: “It is my opinion that the likely cause of Teddy’s death was heat stroke. Dogs can develop heat stroke and die within an hour in hot weather. It is unknown how long and how quickly Teddy died. It is likely that Teddy will have suffered.”

Fisher’s lawyer handed in testimonials and other documents which led the judge to declare Fisher had an “impeccable” character. She had no previous convictions.

Mr Brown said the RSPCA had no concerns about the way Fisher looked after her own two dogs.

Speaking after the sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Claire Mitchell said: “Fisher had confirmed that she’d forgotten to drop Teddy off back at his owner’s and he’d been in the back of the van for five hours. The temperature that day was 30c.

“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 | 12-month community order with 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement; £400 prosecution costs and £114 victim surcharge. Banned from transporting or dealing with dogs commercially for three years (expires March 2026).

York Press
Yorkshire Live

Dogs, Pet Sitters, Dog Walkers, Boarding Kennels

Bridgend, South Wales: Janine Maloney

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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.”

Janine Maloney caused the death of Lila and Phab by leaving them in her car for hours without water and closed windows on a hot sunny day
Janine Maloney caused the death of Lila and Phab by leaving them in her car for hours without water and closed windows on a hot sunny day

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.

ITV News
Wales Online
BBC News

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.

Wales Online

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.”
Dogs, Pet Sitters, Dog Walkers, Boarding Kennels

Paisley, Renfrewshire: John Stokesley

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CONVICTED (2022) | professional dog walker John Stokesley trading as Paws N Go, born 13 January 1969, of 91 Spencer Drive, Paisley PA2 0TW – left his dog in pain and distress.

Stokesley pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to his dog Ziva, a two-year-old Rottweiler-German shepherd cross.

Ziva had suffered injuries to her legs and ears but Stokesley didn’t take her to a vet for four days. As a result her wounds were infected and Ziva developed sepsis. She eventually had to be put down as her injuries were so severe.

Scottish SPCA inspector Gillian Dick said: “We were contacted by a veterinary practice after Stokesley presented the dog there for treatment on November 15, 2019.

“He stated that another dog in the property had attacked Ziva on Monday November 11, 2019. The owner informed the practice that Ziva had a few wounds, which he had been bathing and treating at home but that she had stopped eating.

“Ziva was carried into the practice, as she was unable to walk. The vet had to examine Ziva while she lay on the floor as the dog was so weak she could not even lift her head.

“Ziva was extremely dehydrated and also appeared to be in shock. She had many wounds but the most significant was on her right hind leg. The wound was necrotic and so deep that the bone was exposed. She also had a deep, pus-filled wound behind her right ear.

“The veterinarian advised that Ziva was in septic shock and was suffering from multi-organ failure. Her back leg was so badly infected that it would need to be amputated but because Ziva was so weak she would not survive the anaesthetic and sadly the decision had to be made to euthanise her.”

Paws N Go logo
Stokesley has a dog-walking business named Paws N Go

The Scottish SPCA said it was disappointed Stokesley wasn’t issued with a ban on keeping animals.

“Stokesley failed to take appropriate action and respond to the urgency of his dog’s condition, which ultimately led to her suffering from excruciating and debilitating injuries, which became so severe that the only option was euthanasia to end her suffering,” added Inspector Dick.

“He is employed as a dog walker and has responsibility for animals in his care on a daily basis, which makes this incident even more concerning.

Anyone working in a professional capacity with animals would be expected to have easily recognised the severity of Ziva’s injuries.

“Had he taken swift action at onset of injury and provided his dog with the appropriate veterinary attention, she need not have suffered and may even still be alive and well today.

“We are pleased Stokesley has been fined but disappointed he was not issued with a ban given his employment involves caring for animals on a daily basis. We would hope he would think long and hard about his ability to care for animals going forward.”

Sentencing: fined £800. No ban.

Daily Record
Glasgow Live

Dogs, Pet Sitters, Dog Walkers, Boarding Kennels

Ringwood, Hampshire: Christine Carpenter

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CONVICTED (2022) | professional dog walker Christine Anne Carpenter, born c. 1966, of Northfield Road, Ringwood BH24 1SS – killed two of her clients’ dogs by leaving them in her car on one of the hottest days of the year.

Christine Carpenter pictured outside court. Inset: victims Poppy and Pixie.

Carpenter, who traded under the name Chris’ Absolute Pets, left 11-year-old King Charles Cavalier Poppy and spaniel cross Pixie, 5, in the boot of her car, days after the Met Office had issued its first ever extreme heat weather warning in summer 2021.

The animals were dead “within minutes”, as temperatures reached 29C outside.

On later examination by a vet, the dogs’ internal temperatures were found to be the maximum the thermometer could reach.

Their owners, company director Roy Narbey and wife Kate, were left “devastated” by their deaths after leaving them in the care of someone they considered a friend.

Carpenter was then investigated and prosecuted by the RSPCA.

Magistrates heard she took a group of dogs, including her own, out during the middle of the afternoon in Ringwood.

It was the third day of the Met Office’s unprecedented extreme heat warning across the south-west, as the country was gripped in a blistering heatwave.

The day before the dog walk was the hottest day of 2021, with the mercury hitting 32.2C at Heathrow airport.

The court heard Carpenter picked up the dogs at about 12.30pm from the Narbeys’ home in Ringwood.

She had her own rescue dog in her car and drove to the nearby Kingston Great Common nature reserve, where there is a stream they could swim in.

Mrs Narbey told Carpenter to take the dogs for just a “half-hour quick walk” because it was so hot. In fact, she offered Carpenter a drink but she declined as she was “worried about leaving the dogs in the car”.

However, the court heard Mrs Narbey became concerned when Carpenter still had not returned her dogs by 5.30pm.

She tried calling but had no reply so texted the dog walker asking where she was.

When Mrs Narbey still hadn’t heard by 6.15pm she was “getting worried”.

She called again, and this time Carpenter picked up the phone and asked “were you worried about me?”.

The court prosecutor said: “Things didn’t sound or feel right [to Mrs Narbey]. Her voice was a bit shaky so she asked what’s wrong.

“She said ‘I’m panicking because I can’t wake the girls up’.

“At that point Mrs Narbey screamed at her and said you need to get to the vets.”

But the court heard within minutes of the dogs arriving shortly afterwards at the vets, Carpenter was told the dogs were “gone”.

She told the vet “I only left them for a minute, I love them like they are my own”.

The prosecutor said both dogs were “noticeably warm to the touch” and had a temperature of almost 43C – compared with an ordinary level of 38-39C – even 25 minutes after they were brought to the vets.

The court heard the true reading was likely even higher, as this was the maximum temperature the thermometer could record.

Carpenter was interviewed by police two days after. She said she took the dogs for a walk and they went in the water before getting back into her car and letting them out in her garden.

She said she put Poppy and Pixie in her car with the windows open, then went back inside to get her phone when she felt unwell and had a wash.
She then locked the house and went outside, but went back inside to grab a shopping back as she was planning to go to the supermarket.

The prosecutor said: “She opened the boot. The dogs were lying down and not moving.

“She didn’t know how long the dogs were in the car, she said it felt like minutes.

“She did acknowledge there were exceptional temperatures.

“She accepted that ultimately her actions had caused the dogs to die.”

The court heard a veterinary expert reviewed the case and said the dogs died of “heat stress, having been exposed to an environment of high temperature”.

Michael Stocken, defending, said Carpenter “immediately ceased her business” and was “traumatised as a result of her negligible conduct”.

Carpenter pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the animals and failing in her duty to ensure welfare.

Sentencing: 18 weeks’ imprisonment. Disqualified from owning any animal for eight years.

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Dogs, Pet Sitters, Dog Walkers, Boarding Kennels, Serial Animal Abusers, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Great Harwood / Clitheroe, Lancashire: John and Lauran Walker

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CONVICTED (2022) | John Walker, born c. 1952, of 27 Greenhill, Great Harwood, Blackburn BB6 7HW, and daughter Lauran Walker, born c. 1992, of Darkwood Crescent, Chatburn, Clitheroe BB7 4AL – convicted of animal welfare offences in relation to their doggy day care centre, Mucky Pups in Rishton.

John and Lauran Walker are now banned from holding animal activity licences for 10 years.
John and Lauran Walker are now banned from holding animal activity licences for 10 years.

Father and daughter John and Lauran Walker were banned from holding animal activity licences for 10 years after pleading guilty to animal welfare charges.

Their prosecution followed the emergence of videos on social media showing John Walker violently abusing a number of dogs at Mucky Pups in December 2019.

One video showed Walker picking a dog up by the scruff of his neck, beating him and throwing him across the floor, while the dog can be heard whimpering and crying.

In another, Walker appeared to hit one dog with a broom, while another video showed him physically smacking a dog with his hand so hard that the connection can be heard on the footage.

Hyndburn Borough Council revoked Mucky Pup’s licence in February 2020, and the RSPCA carried out a full investigation into the abuse.

John Walker returns to the Muck Pups' van after a court appearance.
John Walker, a pet owner himself, was filmed attacking scared dogs on multiple occasions with his abuse the cause of psychological trauma and possibly severe physical injury.

Following months of adjournments, the Walkers were finally sentenced on Tuesday 11 January 2022 after pleading guilty at an early hearing in August 2021.

Text messages between Lauran Walker and her employees proved not only that she was aware of her father’s cruelty to the dogs in their care but was not averse to animal abuse herself.

Lauran Walker pleaded guilty to failing to take steps to ensure the needs of an animal was met by failing to prevent John Walker using inappropriate force.

John Walker pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to seven dogs by the inappropriate use of physical force, between September 10 2019 and November 19 2019 and failing to take reasonable steps to ensure the needs of the animals were met between August 1 2019 and December 18 2019.

Sentencing:
John Walker – community order with 10 days of rehabilitation activity; 26-week electronic curfew; £290 in costs.
Lauran Walker – five-week curfew; 15 days of rehabilitation activity. £290 in costs and fines.
Both – disqualified from holding a licence to work with animals for a period of 10 years but may apply for a variation or termination of the disqualification after five years.

Lancashire Telegraph

Several dog owners spoke to the Lancashire Telegraph when the systematic abuse at Mucky Pups came to light.

Vandalised sign for Mucky Pups
Mucky Pups closed permanently some months ago after its licence was revoked by the local authority. This followed a wave of public anger.

Vikki Martin and her daughter Bethany Banks, from Clitheroe, took their pugs, Dexter and Otis, there in September 2019. Ms Martin said she removed them after only a few weeks.

Ms Martin said: “We sent them to Mucky Pups around September for about seven or eight days, over a period of about four or five weeks.

“Dexter and Otis are only pups and we had to put a stop to them going because their behaviour changed massively and they became two very different pugs.

“I don’t know if they were ever on the receiving end of any abuse, as I haven’t seen any videos that show this, but since we pulled them out of the centre our lives have been a living hell because of their behaviour.

“Before we sent them, they were so well-behaved and mild-mannered but, after a couple of weeks, we noticed they’d become very, very jumpy, cowering and startled all the time, more so around men and at sudden movements, such as turning the volume on the TV up, or the phone ringing.

“And they bark at the slightest thing now, whereas before they didn’t.”

In one video taken by Miss Devine, a man [John Walker] can be seen in a room full of dogs, with what looks to be a broom or a mop in his hand. The footage appears to show the man hitting an English Bulldog puppy with the broom.

A woman, from Accrington, who did not wish to be named, contacted the Telegraph to say she believes the dog in that video was her dog.

She said: “Myrtle attended Mucky Pups a few days a week from September and, in fairness, she seemed to enjoy it and would get excited at first. She’s only five and a half months old. About three weeks ago, she started cowering every time we were telling her off for something, and would back away into a corner.

“My partner and I went to my dad’s with Myrtle and, at one point, he was stood behind her, normally, and she started to cower and then ran away from him.

“In one of the videos that I saw on Facebook, I saw the man hit Myrtle with a broom. It was definitely her. It made me feel sick.”

Michael MacRae, who lives in Langho, said he took his three-and-a-half-year-old German Shepherd, Charlie, to Mucky Pups between September and October 2019.

Mr MacRae said: “Where we live, Charlie doesn’t get much interaction with other dogs so we put him in Mucky Pups for one day a week in September, to see how he would get on, then for two days a week as he seemed to be enjoying it.

“But after a few times, he didn’t seem to be happy about going and one Tuesday when I picked him up he was a mess.

“I had to lift him into the car and when I was showering him, he could hardly stand up.

“I phoned Lauren [Lauran], the owner of Mucky Pups, the day after and she said maybe he had been playing a bit too roughly with other dogs.

“I didn’t think much of it but he came back another time and started grunting out of his nose and making strange noises, which he’d never done before.”

He took Charlie to the vets, who did tests and a scan which revealed the animal’s insides were inflamed and swollen.

He added: “Charlie is still undergoing treatment at the vets, and so far it’s cost over £2,000.”

Source: Lancashire Telegraph 01/01/2020

Dogs, Lifers, Pet Profiteering, Pet Sitters, Dog Walkers, Boarding Kennels, puppy farmers / traffickers, kennels, backyard breeders

Lockerbie, Dumfries & Galloway: Kelly Latuskie

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CONVICTED (2021) | puppy farmer Kelly Latuskie, born c. 1973, previously of Carlisle and now Waterbeck, Lockerbie DG11 – bred at least 116 dogs and kept them in squalor.

Puppy farmer Kelly Latuskie previously of Carlisle and now Lockerbie in Scotland

Latuskie committed four animal welfare offences at two locations: Newlands Farm Cottage, Carleton, Carlisle; and at Willowholme Industrial Estate in the city.

Carlisle City Council were tipped off she was breeding more puppies than her licence allowed and looking after more dogs than the 30 permitted at her daycare business.

A search of official microchipping databases found she’d registered and sold at least 117 Cavapoo and Cockapoo puppies between June 2019 and December 2020.

She was only permitted to have one litter at a time.

Latuskie bred dogs in atrocious conditions

Officials visiting Latuskie’s home in December 2020 found 22 dogs in ‘squalid dirty conditions’.

There were two stud dogs and 20 breeding bitches, although her licence only permitted four.

Many had ear infections and dental disease and a council-appointed veterinary surgeon said they were ‘suffering from chronic neglect’ and in deteriorating health.

Latuskie’s inadequate transport and accommodation controls resulted in five dogs being killed by other dogs.

An inspection of Latuskie’s ‘Bark in the Park’ boarding kennels found 36 dogs present on the site. The maximum allowed was 30.

Latuskie, who was estimated to have made £150,000 from puppy farming, wept in court as she was sentenced.

Sentencing: 16-week custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months. Costs of £16,981.83 to Carlisle City Council, and a £128 victim surcharge. Banned from owning, keeping, dealing or transporting animals and from working in a business involving animals. She may not appeal to have the ban lifted for three years. She is banned for life from applying for a council licence to run a business involving animals.

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