CONVICTED (2022) | backyard breeders / animal hoarders Christopher Mark Bennett, born 22 July 1987, and Gemma Linda Brogan, born 4 December 1979, both of 24A St Philips Avenue, Eastbourne BN22 8LX – kept 36 neglected dogs in foul conditions with no food or water.

When RSPCA Inspector Cora Peeters and Sussex Police attended the couple’s address back in June 2021, they found several Yorkshire Terrier and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dogs who were “skinny with matted fur and living in filthy and extremely smelly conditions”.

Inspector Peeters said: “The property smelt very strongly of faeces and urine even through the mask I was wearing.

“When we opened the door, the noise level trebled and was quite unbearable. We were greeted by a sea of little faces all standing on top of each other in desperation to get to the door.

“The room was poorly lit but I could still tell a large number of these dogs were extremely underweight, their coats looked crusty and dreadlocked and the smell of urine and faeces was awful in the stuffy and airless room.”

Inspector Peeters, her colleagues and the police worked together to remove 36 dogs in total from the property.

She said: “The dogs, on the whole, were friendly but nervous and were barking excitedly. The smell was overpowering and the conditions were extremely poor and filthy with slippery floors and dirty walls splattered with muddy dog prints. I saw no evidence of food or water, just two filthy metal bowls against a mud-encrusted wall.”

While most of the dogs were loose in the property, two were in a “filthy crate” without any bedding in the kitchen and another two dogs were found in a small bedroom which was cleaner than the rest of the house, however these dogs also had no access to food or water.

Tragically it was too late to save one dog, who was found deceased in the middle of the kitchen floor.

During the court hearing, a vet report stated that all of the dogs were “suffering” or would have began to suffer if they were left at the premises.

The vet examined the dogs, who were a mix of Yorkshire Terriers, King Charles Cavalier Spaniels and Border Collies, and found they were “skinny” and some of them were even completely emaciated, with one male Yorkshire Terrier weighing just 2.15 kgs.

As well as being extremely underweight, some of the dogs also suffered from overgrown claws, gingivitis, periodontal disease, alopecia. One male Yorkshire Terrier was suffering from a tumour to his testicle. The majority of the dogs also had matted coats which were soiled in faeces.

The vet’s report concluded: “It is my opinion that the majority of dogs suffered as a result of the conditions in which they were being kept. All those dogs with a condition score of 2 or less were, in my opinion, suffering as they were too thin. Dogs with a condition score of 3 were likely to suffer if left at the premises.

“The dogs with periodontal disease were also suffering as this condition causes pain and distress and can predispose heart and kidney disease. The period of suffering would vary for each dog but I would estimate it to be from four to 12 weeks.”

Inspector Peeters said: “This was a sad case involving a large number of dogs who sadly had been neglected, left in their own filth, and left to suffer. The sheer noise and smell of the house alone was overwhelming but to then see the conditions the dogs were being kept in was really upsetting.”

She continued: “I’m glad that we could rescue these dogs and they are now getting the care and love they deserve.”

The 36 dogs, some of whom were pregnant and had puppies to care for, were taken into the care of the RSPCA in Brighton, Kent and Surrey. They were all rehabilitated before being rehomed.

Sentencing |
Bennett: 18 weeks in jail and has been disqualified from keeping all animals indefinitely.
Brogan: 18-week prison sentence suspended for 24 months; 100 hours of unpaid work; 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement; ordered to pay a total of £546.80 in costs and victim surcharge. Five-year ban on keeping any animal (expires February 2027).

Sussex Live
The Argus

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Additional Information

Gemma Brogan is a dance teacher and runs her own children’s dancing school called Gemma Brogan’s Dance Club.

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Update November 2022

The Daily Mail reported that Gemma Brogan and Christopher Bennett were jailed for six years after pleading guilty to seven counts of child neglect.

The prosecution in relation to the children followed the same police raid in June 2021 during which 35 dogs were removed from the couple.

Addressing Lewes Crown Court, Judge Stephen Mooney said that Bennett and Brogan had ‘frittered away £7,000 a month [in benefits] which should have been spent on the children’.

Detective Constable Fiona Ashcroft, of Sussex Police, said: ‘Upon entering the address, our officers were shocked about the state of the property and had major concerns for the welfare of all the children.
‘The stench as you entered the hallway hit officers hard; they were not able to breath normally due to the stench.

‘The state of the whole house was shocking and repugnant; it was cluttered and was strewn with discarded clothing, litter, rotting food and animal faeces.

‘It looked as if it had been filthy for a number of years.

‘There was a deafening sound of dogs yapping and barking coming from the room in front of the hallway.

‘When the door to the living room was opened, officers were shocked to see dozens of dogs climbing over each other to try and reach the open door.

‘All the dogs looked malnourished and skinny. Their fur was greasy, matted and covered in each other’s faeces.

‘In amongst the filth and melee of dogs, officers removed a sleeping child from the sofa, who was dressed in just a soiled nappy and had dogs jumping all over them.

‘All seven children, then aged between four and 17, were immediately taken into emergency protection and, following partnership working with the local authority children’s services, they were subsequently rehoused.

‘The four youngest children are now living with supportive families and are learning all the principle social, mobility and life skills that our society hinges on.

‘This was a particularly dreadful example of child neglect. The address is a three-bedroom property which had 10 occupants and 35 dogs crammed in.

‘It is impossible to paint an accurate picture of the full extent of degradation and filth these vulnerable children had to endure. It is unequivocally one of the most awful addresses I have ever been in.’

Daily Mail 08/11/2022