A BARNSLEY family have been banned from keeping pets and handed suspended prison sentences after neglecting their animals - with their dog having the ‘worst flea infestation an inspector had ever seen’.
A crossbreed dog called Blade was found at the home of Janina Booker, her daughter Emma Booker and brother Darren Ambleton on Standhill Crescent in New Lodge.
He had been wearing a medical cone for over a year-and-a-half and had the most severe flea infestation an RSPCA Inspector had ever seen.
Two cats, Charlie and Benny, were also in severe discomfort and had lost fur on numerous parts of their bodies.
At a sentencing hearing at Barnsley Magistrates’ Court, Janina, 53, Emma, 31 and Darren, 51, were all given eight-week prison sentences, suspended for 12 months.
The trio were also ordered to each pay costs of £400 and £154 victim surcharge.
All three had pleaded guilty to two offences contrary to the Animal Welfare Act at an earlier hearing.
Magistrates described the case as one of ‘prolonged, serious and excessive suffering’ to three ‘vulnerable, domestic pets’.
The court was told that RSPCA Inspector Vanessa Reid went to the property in Standhill Crescent on October 12 last year following reports there were cats at the location with fur loss and a dog who wore a medical cone permanently and had done so for years.
She said: “I entered the living room and saw Blade, a tan, male, crossbreed dog.
“He was wagging his tail and trying to greet me, whilst simultaneously nibbling and scratching at his skin.
“He was wearing a very battered, teal-coloured, medical cone, and I could see small areas of fur loss around the eyes and tail.
“He stopped to repeatedly scratch his stomach with his back leg.
“When he got to me, he was very friendly, so I looked in his coat for signs of fleas.
“The light was very dim in the house, but I could see live fleas just in the one patch I looked in on his back.
“I asked Booker and Ambleton if they were aware of fleas being present.
“Ambleton said yes, whilst Janina Booker said no at exactly the same moment.
“Booker then conceded that she did know, and they had been bathing him in some flea shampoo to get rid of them.”
Janina told the Inspector that in March 2023 she had been advised to put the cone on the dog to stop him repeatedly scratching his ears and causing wounds and confirmed it had not really been removed since.
Blade and the two cats were taken to the vets and subsequently seized by police officers.
The animals, who were signed over into RSPCA care, were all cared for at the charity’s Southport, Ormskirk and District Branch where they made a good recovery.
Blade and Charlie have since been rehomed but Benny is still waiting to be adopted.
Speaking after sentencing inspector Reid said: “In my seven year career, I have never seen a dog so agitated and annoyed by fleas, nor have I seen an infestation quite as severe on any animal.
“The sad and entirely avoidable suffering of these three animals shows how virtually important it is to treat fleas, it’s part and parcel of responsible pet ownership.”
