CONVICTED (2023) | Nicholas John Low, born c. 1952, a serial animal abuser from Ty Isoe, Maes Maelor, Llandegla, Wrexham LL11 3AA – left puppies to starve to death in a dingy caravan parked in a forest; other animals kept in squalor.
Low, who has two previous convictions for near identical offences, was jailed and handed a second lifetime ban for leaving dogs, cats and a goose to live in squalor
The custodial sentence came after he was found guilty by trial of five offences under the Animal Welfare Act. This includes causing unnecessary suffering to dogs, cats and a goose.
Furthermore, it was said that Low failed to care for 11 dogs and puppies. He was also found to be in breach of a lifetime disqualification order imposed in May 2007.
Among the animals found at the scene were an emaciated yellow Labrador and two dead puppies. Low also had cats that “all appeared unkempt with dirty coats” with one found to have a large polypoid affecting his ear.
A preliminary post mortem on the dead puppies revealed that both animals were in “poor body condition” and had likely “starved to death.”
The vet also confirmed that a tabby cat was found to have a burst abscess under his chin as well as thick pus coming out of his right ear. The Labrador was described as “thin with a body condition score of one out of nine where one is emaciated and nine is obese, she weighed 16.1kg.”
Six puppies were all examined and were estimated to be aged between eight and 10 weeks old. It was said they were “small in stature and all of thin body condition.”
In a witness statement provided to the court, RSPCA inspector Rachael Davies described the location where Low kept the animals as a clearing in the forest.
The inspector said there was lots of rubbish and recycled plastics, tins, bike wheels, plastic bags and general waste lying around on the ground in the clearing.
She said: “I could see an extremely skinny yellow Labrador type dog and white long haired German Shepherd type dog tethered to what I would describe as some sort of trailer. The dogs had no access to any suitable shelter, there was a sodden cushion on the ground near the German Shepherd and lots of empty dirty metal bowls. I could clearly see all of the ribs and hips on the Labrador, and could easily feel her spine, her teats were enlarged.”
In a caravan, she found eight black and chocolate Labrador cross puppies who were “very small”. Insp Davies added that the pups were in a “very unsanitary” environment and she “did not see any food or water bowls inside the caravan”.
Inspector Davies spoke with Low at first and advised about getting medical attention for the animals and proper accommodation for the dogs but he was “disagreeable” and refused their help. She later returned with animal rescue officer Melanie Froude and once again asked if she would be able to take the dogs to the vets, but this was refused and she issued him with an Animal Welfare assessment warning notice.
It was soon discovered that Low had been disqualified from keeping all animals for life – and the officers reattended the address with North Wales Police.
Inspector Davies described the conditions as much the same “just wetter and colder”.
She said: “The German Shepherd was no longer tethered to the trailer with the Labrador and the puppies were roaming free in the forest clearing. Four of the puppies gathered together and huddled themselves around a lit fire bin just outside the caravan where they had been contained on my last visit.
“They were all very quiet and looked very cold and like that had lost condition since I had last seen them. The Labrador was still tethered to the same trailer and she also appeared to have lost condition looking a lot thinner. The water bowls that had been empty on my last visit now appeared to be filled with rain water.”
In total 13 animals (plus the two deceased pups) were removed and placed in the care of the RSPCA.
Since they were seized, the 13 animals have been doing well in RSPCA with the Labrador and pups settling in well in foster homes. The animals will now be found forever homes.
Sentencing | 26-week custodial; £154 victim surcharge. Lifetime ban from keeping animals.
