Birmingham boarder banned for ‘leaving dogs to suffer’
An unlicenced dog boarder has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years after pleading guilty to animal welfare offences, following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.
The animal welfare charity began an investigation after concerns were raised about separate incidents in relation to private dog boarder Natalie Bailey, 31, of Copthorne Road, Birmingham, who had boarded three dogs – all of which appeared to have welfare concerns after being in her care.
The RSPCA was contacted by vets with concerns for dogs being neglected at kennels being run by Bailey.
A staff member at a vet practice, who had been presented with a dog named Rochea, said: “A woman arrived at the clinic very panicked and she had blood over her arms. She said that she had picked her dog up from the boarding kennels and that she thinks she is dying. I went straight out to the car and there were two bulldogs in the back seat.
“One was stood up, bright and appeared pleased to see me, whereas the other dog was very lethargic. On closer inspection she appeared collapsed, she was passing bloody diarrhoea, her mucous membranes were pale and tacky, she had wounds on her face, she felt cold and was severely underweight. She looked in a very bad way and I was concerned.
“The owner explained to me that the dogs had been at a boarding kennels for several weeks whilst the owner was moving house. She said she had been sent some photos whilst they had been boarding. The owner then went on to say that she rang the kennels as she was worried that they may have ran out of food. The woman at the kennels said that they were fine, the owner felt this was strange and so took a bag of food round anyway. When she arrived, she found the dog in this condition so collected her straight away and brought her straight down to us.”
Rochea suddenly collapsed and had to be put to sleep with consent from the owner.
A female white female Staffordshire bull terrier type dog named Brindy was also found to be in an emaciated state with a history of vomiting to a different vet practice. She was being cared for by Bailey while her owner was in hospital.
RSPCA Inspector Jack Alderson, who investigated for the animal welfare charity, said: “Owners entrusted Bailey with their pets, expecting a level of care which they sadly did not receive.”
Bailey was also sentenced to 52 weeks custody, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days when she was sentenced at Birmingham Intense Supervision Court.
