10-year-ban for ‘trusted’ kennel owner from Great Barr who let dogs suffer

Natalie Bailey, of Copthorpe Road, in Great Barr, who ran a private boarding kennel in Birmingham admitted a series of animal welfare offences against three dogs, with one needing to be put down. 

Bailey was investigated by the RSPCA investigators after concerns were raised by a member of staff at a vet when a bulldog was brought to the building in a suffering state. 

The concerns were raised about the mistreatment of the dogs at the private kennels in Cookset Lane, Kingstanding, between November 2023 and January 2024.

A staff member at the vet said that the English bulldog, Rochea, was bought in by a woman who was ‘very panicked' and ‘had blood over her arms'.

The staff member said: “A woman arrived at the clinic very panicked and had blood over her arms. 

“She said that she had picked her dog up from the boarding kennels and that she thought she was dying. I went straight out to the car and there were two bulldogs in the back seat. 

“One was stood up, bright and appeared pleased to see me, whereas the other dog was very lethargic. On closer inspection, she appeared collapsed. 

“She was passing bloody diarrhoea, her mucous membranes were pale and tacky, she had wounds on her face, she felt cold and was severely underweight. She looked in a very bad way, I was concerned.”

The owner explained that the dog had been at a kennel for several weeks while she moved house.

The staff member said: “The owner explained to me that the dogs had been at a boarding kennel for several weeks whilst the owner was moving house. 

“She said had been sent some photos while they were boarding. The owner then went on to say that she rang the kennels as she was worried that they may have run out of food. 

“The woman at the kennels said that they were fine, the owner felt this was strange and so took a bag of food around anyway. When she arrived, she found the dog in this condition so collected her straight away and brought her straight down to us.”

Sadly, Rochea suddenly collapsed and had to be put to sleep with consent from her owner. 

A female Staffordshire bull terrier-type dog named Brindy was also found to be suffering when she was presented in an emaciated state, with the dog showing a history of vomiting to a different vet practice. 

She was being cared for by Bailey while her owner was in hospital. 

RSPCA inspector, Jack Alderson, who investigated for the animal welfare charity, said: “Owners entrusted Bailey with their pets, expecting a level of care which they sadly did not receive.”

A third dog, an English bulldog called Beau, was also found to have been left in a crate for a long period, causing it to suffer scalding due to standing in urine and faeces. 

Beau had also been found not to have been given appropriate food and kept in an unclean environment.

The 31-year-old was banned from keeping animals for 10 years after pleading guilty to offences under the Animal Welfare Acts of 2006.

She was also handed a one-year jail term, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to carry out 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days when she was sentenced at Birmingham Insense Supervision court on April 10.