Pet sitters kicked and dragged family dog while owners were on holiday
A couple who were paid £1,400 to look after a family’s pets were caught on camera kicking, punching and dragging their dogs.
The abuse only came to light when the family returned after a four-week break and the dogs would cower if their son was playing loudly.
They checked footage from cameras installed around their Solihull home and saw Paige Williams and Bradley Archer targeting their pets.
They submitted 51 clips to the RSPCA showing the abuse against Ayrton, one, and Freida, three.
In one clip, Williams speaks directly to the owners through one of the cameras saying: ‘I will never look after your dogs again.’
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They were seen dragging the dogs by their collars and lifting them off the ground. In one clip, Williams throws one onto patio slabs as she struggles to get it inside.
They also repeatedly screamed at the two dogs and hit them.
Other footage shows Ayrton and Freida locked in a crate, tethered to a tree and chased around the garden with a stick.
The family contacted the RSPCA who prosecuted the couple, from Fur & Filly PetCare Services, over their treatment of the German Shorthaired Pointers.
Inspector Ben Jones 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 Freida subject to four weeks of wanton intimidatory behaviour and abuse.’
They appeared at Coventry Magistrates’ Court on April 8 where they admitted failing to meet the needs of two dogs.
They were both given 12-month community orders and banned from keeping animals for seven years.
Williams must carry out 140 hours of unpaid work and was ordered to pay £464. Archer was given 40 hours and told to pay £864.
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