CONVICTED (2015) | breeder Deborah Fuller, born c. 1960, of 52 Harwich Road, Lawford, Manningtree CO11 2LS – dragged a Ridgeback dog behind a vehicle, causing painful injuries to his paws, legs and chest.
Fuller, who ran her breeding operation under the names Nyuki Ridgebacks and Hamilton Stovare, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to the Ridgeback, known as Tango, by not taking him to a vet and failing to take steps to keep him secured safely within a vehicle. She had denied the charges.
The court heard that in June 2014 Tango was dragged behind a moving car for about 400 metres as onlookers shouted until the vehicle stopped. The court heard that Fuller was driving the car through roadworks on the B1066 near Long Melford when she was seen by tree surgeons.
Hazel Stevens, representing the RSPCA, said: “One became aware of a green car driving through the traffic light area and the sound of something being dragged.
“As the car passed him he saw it was a dog behind the car.”
The tree surgeons shouted at Fuller to stop and vehicles tooted horns.
Ms Stevens said: “She didn’t stop until she passed the end of the single carriageway. They thought the defendant was not behaving in a normal way and insisted the dog should see a vet.”
The tree surgeons took the vehicle’s registration number and called the police, who alerted the RSPCA. Two police officers and RSPCA inspector Sam Garvey went to Fuller’s home later that day, but were refused entry.
Fuller was found in an outbuilding with one-year-old Tango, who had bandages on his paws. He had injuries to the pads of all four of his feet on which a layer of skin had been removed. He also had grazing to his chest area and a deep wound to his elbow and leg.
Tango was seized and taken to a vet. From there he went into a foster home where he made a good recovery after eight weeks.
Det Con Michael Evans said Tango looked scared, and that cuts and grazes could be seen on his body and paws. He asked Fuller if he could take the dog.
“She became quite abusive and really tugged on the dog quite hard, making me feel uneasy,” he said.
She was then restrained by officers and Tango was taken away.
Convicting Fuller, the chairman of the bench said: “We believe a reasonable person in control of three large dogs would ensure they were properly secured to ensure safety of the dog – either by a harness or cage.”
“You had many options available to you to seek treatment – first of all, the vets you had just visited or numerous other local vets, including the one the tree surgeon advised you of,” he said.
“But you chose to continue home. We believe for whatever reason, known only to yourself, you had no intention of getting veterinary treatment as a matter of urgency.
“We do not accept your reason for delaying treatment as reasonable.”
Sentence: £3,000 costs, 12-month community order, two-month curfew .The court also allowed confiscation of the 27 Ridgebacks owned by Fuller and already in RSPCA care following welfare concerns*. Five-year ban on owning animals (expired April 2020).
*Fuller had previously been the subject of complaints from neighbours about noise and faeces and the RSPCA had seized 44 dogs from her property on welfare grounds, alleging that many of the dogs were emaciated and one had a facial tumour. That confiscation was later judged to be unlawful because the RSPCA did not have the correct warrant. Because of her conviction in relation to Tango, however, Fuller did not get her dogs back.
Update | June 2021
Fuller was prosecuted again after it was discovered that she had breached her ban on keeping animals.
She was also found to have committed further animal welfare offences with one of her dogs, Wizard, struggling to walk with a deformity of the lower right foreleg which was swollen. In addition he had a large mass causing him pain and was later put to sleep on veterinary advice due to having a bone tumour.
In all, ten dogs were found at Fuller’s property, all of whom were being kept in atrocious conditions.
Fuller received a three-month curfew to be monitored electronically and a 20-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement. She was also fined a total of £490 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs. She was further disqualified from keeping all animals for three years (expires June 2024).
A second defendant, Keith Barton, born 3 March 1960, of Mwafrica Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Santon Downham, Suffolk, was found guilty of aiding, abetting and counseling or procuring Deborah Fuller to breach her disqualification order. He was sentenced to an 18-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £625 costs.
Update | May 2023
Fuller was jailed for 34 weeks after she was found to have locked a dog in a cage with cable ties. She pleaded guilty to six offences of breaching a disqualification order, relating to three dogs, two cats and six horses.
Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard that during a warrant of Fuller’s home in February 2022 two dogs – a Rhodesian Ridgeback and a Basset Hound – and a cat were removed from the property. The warrant was carried out with police following reports that she was in breach of a ban imposed on her in April 2021.
The Basset Hound was found in a caravan tethered on a short metal chain inside a cage, which had been shut with cable ties.
RSPCA inspector Caroline Richardson said: “There was no water, no food, not even an empty bowl where the dog may have had water. There was torn-up bedding piled up underneath the dog. “The dog was unable to move properly due to the chain.
“He could not access all of his crate as his chain held him to one end, and even when sitting up at the end he was confined to, the chain pulled taut against his fur.
“The dog would not even have been able to turn around without some difficulty, and made no attempt to do so while we were there.”
Documents found at the home also led the RSPCA to locating horses being kept at a local livery yard which Fuller jointly owned with another person. Three of the horses were kept in a field in Woodbridge.
The court heard that the RSPCA carried out another check of Fuller’s home in October. An inspector found she had hidden a cat under her bed and a Jack Russell was also found upstairs.
As well as the prison sentence, she was given an additional seven-year ban on keeping animals and ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and a £127 victim surcharge.
People such as this shouldn’t keep Dogs.