A YORK animal rescue team has helped to rehome 20 dogs and a cat found in filthy crates.
York RSPCA were on hand to help rehome 20 pedigree collie dogs and a cat which were found in heavily soiled crates piled high in a caravan and van in Cumbria.
Penelope Garner-Carpenter, 67, was given a 22-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, and banned from keeping animals for life in a hearing at Barrow-in-Furness Magistrates Court on September 25.
It followed an investigation by the RSPCA, which found that the animals had been suffering from hunger for months.
The dogs were found in urine and faeces coated crates, stacked on top of each other (Image: RSPCA)
A spokesperson for the charity said: “Ten of the dogs were emaciated which caused them to become anaemic.
“They were also stained in faeces and urine, and some had pressure sores on their bodies.”
'I could not believe that someone had been living there'
In his written evidence to the court, RSPCA Inspector Carl Larsson, who attended the scene, said: “In the front cab of the van, which was very cluttered, I saw an unopened pack of raw chicken thighs which I was informed the owner had stated she was feeding them.
“The van was a panel van with no windows in the back.
“Once the doors were closed there would be very limited natural light entering the cargo area.
“Ventilation would also be an issue, particularly with the crates stacked three high as they had been. The weather in Cumbria had been extremely hot in the previous few weeks in the mid to high 20s.
“The caravan was in a similar condition, and I could not believe that someone had been living there.
The dogs were all housed in metal dog crates with plastic bases, although these were missing from some of them. There was no bedding of any sort, and almost all the cages were heavily soiled.”
"Ten of the dogs were emaciated which caused them to become anaemic" (Image: RSPCA)
Many of the dogs, the inspector added, had diarrhoea which they were sitting in.
One female Collie was so dehydrated she had to be put on a drip overnight.
In her interview with the RSPCA, Garner-Carpenter said she had owned the dogs most of their lives.
She acknowledged the van was not a suitable way to keep them but said it was only a short-term solution as she had been evicted.
She said the dogs were being fed with raw chicken daily and she was treating her animals for fleas when required.
"The dogs were all housed in metal dog crates with plastic bases, although these were missing from some of them. There was no bedding of any sort, and almost all the cages were heavily soiled.” (Image: RSPCA)
The dogs spent less time outside, Garner-Carpenter said, because she had a set number of dog leads.
In mitigation the court heard the defendant, now of Hatfield Woodhouse near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, continued to deny the offences and said she was suffering from old age and poor health.
A vet examined all the dogs at the police station.
Some were taken to veterinary practices for further treatment and others were transferred by RSPCA officers to private boarding facilities on behalf of the charity before being rehomed to six of the charity’s branch-run animal centres.
Garner-Carpenter said that she had fed the dogs raw chicken daily and had been treating them for fleas when required (Image: RSPCA)
Sadly one Collie was put to sleep on veterinary advice because of continuing ill health.
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."