RSPCA: Twelve cats and dogs free to find new homes - after neglect left some with sores and urine burns

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A woman who kept over a dozen sick and neglected pets in cages surrounded by rubbish and their own waste has been given a suspended prison sentence - and banned from keeping pets.

Stephanie Sinclaire, 59, of Brierley Hill in the West Midlands has been handed a 26 week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, and disqualified from keeping animals for ten years, after she admitted four animal welfare offences following an RSPCA investigation. She has also been ordered to carry out 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days, and pay £400 in court costs.

Late last year, rescuers from the charity found eight cats and five dogs inside her Stour Hill home, in what they described as an unsanitary environment full of hazards - surrounded by a build-up of faeces and urine.  There was no clean water source available and no comfortable bedding for resting, while some were living in small crates with heavily soiled litter trays, and urine and faeces in their coats.

According to the RSPCA, a vet who examined the animals said that it appeared they had been suffering for a matter of weeks, with all but one of the dogs underweight from a lack of food - and others suffering untreated health conditions. Two dogs, a cockapoo named Sykes and a Labrador named Ozzy, had been left with scalds and lesions on their skin due to prolonged contact with urine and faeces.

The vet said Ozzy had also likely been experiencing ongoing pain from severe spondylosis - a painful spinal condition where the discs between the vertebrae break down. As a result, he’d developed painful urine scald and pressure sores.

“This unnecessary suffering could have been avoided by seeking veterinary treatment, including pain relief and by providing an appropriate environment that would have prevented Ozzy from lying in his own urine and faeces,” they said in their report. Sadly, Ozzy had to be put to sleep due to the severity of his condition.

The other animals have been in RSPCA care since their rescue, but the charity says they can now find new homes after Sinclaire’s sentencing. 

RSPCA Inspector Ben Jones said: “Our plea to all animal owners is to make sure they always receive care and treatment they need. “Animals are completely reliant on their owners to ensure their needs are met and they are kept safe and healthy.”