United Kingdom: Jail for dog breeder who kept bulldogs in conditions so disgusting the smell made a policeman's eyes water

UNITED KINGDOM -- A dog breeder has been jailed for keeping a bulldog and her four puppies in conditions that were so disgusting the smell made a police officer’s eyes water.

Robert Allen, of Peel Street, Spotland, Rochdale , was jailed for four weeks while friend Darren Cottrell of Dale Street, Milnrow, Rochdale, was given a suspended sentence for neglecting the dogs, which they owned jointly.

Bury magistrates heard the dogs were discovered when police went to an house on Peel Street to arrest Allen, 31, in connection with a separate matter in October last year.

Anna McDonald, prosecuting, said: “When the constable went in, the smell of excrement made his eyes water as there was dog excrement all about the place and Allen did not appear well.

“In a back bedroom he found four small bulldog puppies who were malnourished and there was a malodorous smell coming from the room – there was also no food and no clean water.

“He said it was the worst conditions he had seen in his 12-year service.”

She added that the dogs had not received proper vaccinations and that two of the puppies were carrying an infectious canine disease.

Cottrell, 38, who the court heard had been quizzed by the RSPCA in April last year after receiving reports concerning the welfare of some puppies, later told police he owned the bulldogs jointly with Allen, but denied breeding any other dogs.

Bill Rawstron, defending Cottrell, said: “No matter what the evidence shows, he cares very much for those dogs and he is very ashamed to be in the position which he is in.

“When he was questioned about the dogs he admitted the conditions were disgusting and that no animal should have to live like that.”

Both men had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching the Animal Welfare Act.

Mr Rawstron said Cottrell had been unaware of the conditions in which the dogs were being kept and that he had tried unsuccessfully to contact Allen for several days.

 

Cottrell was given a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months and banned from keeping animals for life. He was also given 150 hours’ unpaid work and ordered to pay £680 costs at his sentencing.

Allen was jailed for four weeks and banned from keeping dogs for life at an earlier hearing.

(Manchester Evening News - May 3, 2016)