A woman has been given a suspended prison sentence and banned from keeping animals for life after 21 pedigree Collie dogs and a cat were found living in heavily soiled crates piled high in the back of her caravan and van in Cumbria.
RSPCA said that 10 of the dogs were emaciated, which caused them to become anaemic. They were also stained with faeces and urine, and some had pressure sores on their bodies.
A vet said they had been suffering from hunger ‘for months’.
At a sentencing hearing at Barrow-in-Furness Magistrates’ Court, their owner, Penelope Garner-Carpenter was disqualified from keeping animals for life, following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.
Ms Garner-Carpenter, who had been convicted in her absence at an earlier hearing, was also handed a 22-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, for three animal welfare offences, to run concurrently.
RSPCA said its network of branch-run centres in Southport, Blackpool, Burton-upon-Trent, Radcliffe-on-Trent and York, together with Animal Rescue Cumbria successfully rehomed 20 of the dogs and the cat from the case.
Sadly, one Collie was put to sleep on veterinary advice because of continuing ill health. The cat, Julius, was adopted after being looked after by RSPCA’s Manchester and Salford Branch.
Speaking after sentencing, RSPCA inspector Will Lamping, who led the investigation, said: “Keeping so many dogs in crates in these conditions was totally unacceptable. There would have been barely room to move, distress from excessive noise and the animals would have been forced to toilet in the small space they had been provided with.
“Crates should only be used for short periods of time, with suitable training, and should never be used as a permanent environment for a dog.
“My thanks go to Cumbria Police, who answered the initial emergency call and assisted us with this case, as well as Animal Rescue Cumbria and the RSPCA’s network of branch-run centres who worked so hard to help the dogs and cat recover and go on to find loving new homes.”
