Pet sitters sentenced after videos catch ‘inappropriate’ care of dogs

A Solihull pet sitter and her partner have been sentenced at Coventry Magistrates’ Court after videos emerged of them dragging, kicking, hitting and screaming at dogs they were being paid to look after.

Pet sitter Paige Williams, 26, of Kenilworth Road, Knowle, West Midlands, operated under the name Fur & Filly PetCare Services. She billed a family £1,400 to take care of their three dogs, two cats and two birds of prey while they were away for four weeks on holiday in July and August 2024.

Her partner Bradley Regan Archer, 27, previously of Balsall Street, Balsall Common, joined her at the family’s home, in Balsall Common, to help take care of the animals.

When the family returned from holiday they looked back at footage captured on cameras in the kitchen and garden and found the footage. They subsequently submitted 51 videos of evidence to the RSPCA who launched an investigation.

All of the incidents captured on the cameras involved a 13-month-old dog called Ayrton and a three-year-old dog called Frieda – both German Shorthaired Pointers – and did not relate to the third dog, the cats or the birds.

Both pet sitters were caught on camera shouting and swearing at the dogs, roughly dragging Ayrton and Freida by their collars, holding them off the ground, pushing them through doorways and pushing them down.

RSPCA Inspector Ben Jones, who carried out the investigation on behalf of the animal welfare charity, said: “It’s a big decision to leave your pets in the care of someone else and, in this case, the family were leaving their pets with someone they felt they could trust.

“Sadly, Williams and Archer betrayed their trust with care that fell below the standards the law requires, with Ayrton and Feida subject to four weeks of wanton intimidatory behaviour and abuse.

“What made this case even more shocking is that they were clearly aware of the presence of the cameras and even appeared to speak directly to the dogs’ owners through the cameras amid such inappropriate animal care.”

In one of the clips where Williams appears to address the owners directly, via the camera, she says: “I will never look after your dogs again, my animals have suffered this month. My animals. I’ve had enough.”

A vet who watched the footage said, in her witness statement to the court, that the Ayrton and Frieda showed signs of anxiety and stress, adding: “Both dogs are handled in a way that would [have] negatively affected their mental welfare (due to crating, being shouted at, inconsistent training) and their physical welfare (dragging by the collar, yanking on slip leads and lifting the dog’s body weight from the ground by the neck).”

The court heard that the family had been introduced to Ms Williams by a friend and had used her several times over the years, with no concerns, before asking her to have the animals for the four-week period in 2024. They left instructions to care for them as well as emergency numbers.

Inspector Jones said: “They had no concerns about their pets until they returned home and found them to be quieter than normal, cowering if their son was too loud when playing. When they checked the cameras they were shocked by what they found.”

In mitigation, the court heard that Ayrton was a lively, young dog who could be challenging to deal with. Magistrates were also told that Williams was in the early stages of pregnancy at the time and was struggling to cope with hormonal changes.

The couple appeared at Coventry Magistrates’ Court after Williams pleaded guilty to one offence of failing to meet the needs of two dogs under section nine of the Animal Welfare Act. Archer had earlier pleaded not guilty and was due to stand trial but changed his plea on the day.

Magistrates sentenced Williams to a 12-month community order with 140 hours of unpaid work and ordered her to pay £350 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

Archer, who stayed at the property for the four-week job, was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 40 hours of unpaid work, and the court ordered him to pay £750 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

Both were disqualified from keeping all animals for seven years. This means Williams can no longer be responsible for the care of any animal, and therefore should not operate as a pet sitter.