CONVICTED (2016) | animal hoarders Linda Gibson, born c. 1972, and Lewis Little, born 1988, of Buxton Road, Luton LU1 1RE – kept multiple pets in squalor without veterinary treatment.
The horrible pair kept a menagerie of cats, dogs, snakes, gerbils, turtles and even a bearded dragon at their flat .
Several welfare visits by the RSPCA noted the home was overrun with household waste, and described as “uninhabitable” by RSPCA inspector Stephanie Law. Inspector Law even mentioned banging her head on the living room ceiling while stepping over mountains of mess.
In court, Gibson and Little were told they presented a continuing risk to animal welfare.
The court heard that Inspector Law attended the couple’s address on November 25, 2015, to return a Staffordshire bull terrier named Scar after he had been neutered and fitted with a buster collar.
During the visit, Inspector Law instructed the couple how to administer medication and advised that Scar’s buster collar had to stay on to prevent him interfering with his wound.
Gibson then presented a large tabby cat named Soldier who had a hole under his right armpit.
“The wound was smelly and the flesh looked red raw,” noted the inspector.
Inspector Law told Gibson that the cat needed urgent veterinary treatment but she refused to sign the cat over.
Inspector Law returned the next day to find the kitchen overflowing with rubbish to the extent that she “could not see the floor”.
Photographs were taken and Scar was seen running between the kitchen and the yard not wearing his buster collar.
On a further visit on December 4, Inspector Law noted: “I picked Scar up and I could see the scrotum was very swollen and the sutured wound appeared to be completely torn. Mr Little told me he had removed the buster collar on the day that he returned home.”
Both animals were removed by the RSPCA and taken to the vets for treatment. They have since been rehomed and are understood to be doing well.
Janita Patel, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, appealed to magistrates to disqualify Gibson and Little from keeping pets.
Ms Patel said: “They are clearly not fit to look after themselves, let alone after animals.
“There’s also the worry that they didn’t have the funds to take the animals to the vet when they needed to.”
As magistrates disqualified the pair for ten years, Gibson wept. The pair said they still had two cats, two snakes and five gerbils in their home and were given 14 days to rehome them.
After the verdict, RSPCA inspector Mrs Law said: “I’m happy with the outcome and it reflects the severity of the offence.”
Sentence:
Little – three-month curfew and ten days of rehabilitation activity.
Gibson – 100 hours of unpaid work
Both – £310 costs each. Banned from keeping animals for ten years (expires May 2026).
Update 2017
Lewis Little is now living in Rivergate House, Cheapside, Luton LU1 2HN.