var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime() Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Dogs living in filth, animal care worker charged - Edinburgh, SC (UK)
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Case ID: 15476
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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Defense(s): Ewen Roy



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Dogs living in filth, animal care worker charged
Edinburgh, SC (UK)

Incident Date: Saturday, Jan 10, 2009

Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Lisa Caldwell

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

An animal care worker has admitted sickening neglect of her own pet while she worked at a cat and dog home.

Lisa Caldwell, 21, left her 10-month-old German Shepherd, Max, locked in a tiny cage which was soaked with urine and littered with faeces as she cared for stray animals.

A five-year-old dog, Ty, was also found in her filthy Edinburgh home after an anonymous call alerted the authorities to the neglect.

Police officers who found the animals said the scene they were presented with was like that usually seen when a body has lain dead for weeks.

Caldwell is currently suspended on full pay from the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home and today at Edinburgh Sheriff Court she admitted neglecting Max.

It was accepted by the Crown that she had not neglected Ty.

Caldwell was banned from keeping animals until her sentence next month where she could face a lengthy ban.

Fiscal depute Neil Allan told the court how Lothian and Borders Police were called on January 10 this year by a member of the public who was worried about the dog's howling.

Officers went to her Pennywell Gardens home and could also hear the distressed animal's calls.

Mr Allan said: "An officer looked through the letter box and was overcome with a pungent smell. There was obviously concern about the welfare of the dog and dog handlers were called."

Caldwell's door was forced in and dog handlers found the pitiful pets among an "astonishing amount" of dog faeces.

Mr Allan said while Ty was calm and content, Max was held in a filthy and soaking cage and was clearly under stress.

He said: "It was not happy with human contact -- it was very distressed and very aggressive and was pacing around in the cage."

Mr Allan added that the cage was "in no way appropriate" to hold the dog for long periods of time.

And, Mr Allan said, the rest of the home was in a similar condition.

He said: "In the remainder of the house there were quite extraordinary scenes of not just unpleasantness but astonishing quantities of dog faeces."

A neighbour later told police that Caldwell worked at the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home based in Seafield and had been leaving the dogs through the day while she worked between 8am and 4.30pm.

When interviewed Caldwell claimed she had been relying on her boyfriend Steven to look after the dogs through the day.

Her lawyer, Ewen Roy, said Caldwell was an animal lover who was ashamed that she had let caring for the two pets to get on top of her.

Mr Roy said she had owned Ty since he was a puppy and had never had any trouble with him but had become overwhelmed after buying Max as company for the older dog in December last year.

He said that Caldwell -- a first offender -- had bought a £70 cage from the Acorn Pet Centre after becoming worried that he was aggressive towards Ty.

And, he said, after walking and feeding the two animals before work, she had paid her boyfriend to tend to them while she away -- this, Mr Roy said, clearly had not happened.

The animals were seized by the SSPCA which is keeping them pending the outcome of Caldwell's case.

Sheriff Celia Sanderson said she would consider banning Caldwell from keeping pets when she is sentenced next month.

She said: "This is a very serious matter. The fact that you were employed by the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home almost renders me speechless."

Caldwell was bailed but is not allowed to keep animals in the meantime.


Case Updates

An kennel worker who left her own puppy in a small cage in "disgraceful" conditions, has been ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

Neighbours heard the German Shepherd howling after Lisa Caldwell left for work at Edinburgh Cat and Dog Home.

Police who broke down her door found "astonishing quantities" of dog faeces in her flat in Pennywell Gardens.

Caldwell, 21, had earlier admitted an offence under the Animal Health and Welfare Act at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

But she escaped a ban on keeping animals after the sheriff heard that another older dog she owned was kept in satisfactory conditions.

Caldwell was initially suspended and has since lost her job at the cat and dog home in Seafield Road East.

The court heard she was employed to look after dogs at the sanctuary but left her own 10-month old dog in a cage for hours at a time.

In the remainder of the house there were quite extraordinary scenes in terms, not just of general unpleasantness, but astonishing quantities of dog faeces

Fiscal Depute, Neil Allan, told a previous hearing that the bottom of the cage was soaked and piled with faeces and that the puppy was very distressed, aggressive and pacing around the cage.

"In the remainder of the house there were quite extraordinary scenes in terms, not just of general unpleasantness, but astonishing quantities of dog faeces.

"It had plainly been in there for a very, very considerable time".

Defence agent Ewen Roy told Sheriff Celia Sanderson that Caldwell had bought the puppy as company for her other dog, Ty, but did not realise it had "behavioural problems".

It was very nervous, agitated and aggressive with strangers and at times displayed aggression to Ty.

The solicitor added that Caldwell had paid £70 for the largest cage she could find at a pet store and put the puppy in from 0800 BST to 1630 BST while she was at work. She had asked her boyfriend to tend to the dogs at lunchtimes.

Mr Roy said she was "ashamed" of the state of her home.

"She simply wasn't coping with the two dogs and wasn't cleaning up after the younger one," he said.

Mr Roy said Caldwell genuinely cared for animals. She had lost her employment and her health had deteroriated because of anxiety over the matter.

Her dog Ty has been returned to her by the Scottish SPCA but the charity has not returned to puppy.

Sheriff Sanderson told Caldwell: "The photographs I was given of the conditions in your house were horrifying and disgusting."

The sheriff added: "I am not going to disqualify you from keeping animals.

"I do not believe the SSPCA would have returned the animal to you if they were in any doubt whatsoever."

Caldwell pleaded guilty to an offence on 10 January under the Animal Health and Welfare Act.
Source: BBC News - May 5, 2009
Update posted on May 5, 2009 - 4:34PM 
A kennel worker who appeared in court for neglecting her own puppy by leaving it unattended for long periods in a small cage in "disgraceful" conditions, has been fired by her employers.
Twenty-one-year-old Lisa Caldwell, who worked for the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home in Seafield Road East, Edinburgh, pleaded guilty previously at the city's Sheriff Court to an offence under the Animal Health and Welfare Act on January 10 this year. Sentence had been deferred until today for background reports.

Sheriff Celia Sanderson, who had warned Caldwell that a ban on her keeping animals was "uppermost in my mind", was told by defence agent, Ewen Roy, that the puppy had been returned to her by the SSPCA in March. The Sheriff said she would defer sentence again to have written confirmation from the SSPCA that the puppy had been returned and that they were satisfied with the conditions in which it was being kept. Until she had that assurance, she said, her "hands were tied" when it came to considering a ban.

Mr Roy also told the Sheriff that Caldwell, who had been suspended from her employment since the offence came to light, had now been fired by the home.

The neglect came to light when police were called to Caldwell's flat in Pennywell Gardens, Edinburgh, by neighbours complaining that a dog had been howling for several days. Officers looked through the letter box of the flat and were overcome by a pungent smell. After calling a dog handler, they broke down the door and found two German Shepherds inside. One, a 10-month old puppy named Max was inside a small cage and the other, five-year old Ty, was loose.

Fiscal Depute, Neil Allan, told the court at the previous hearing that the bottom of the cage was soaked and piled with faeces and that the puppy was very distressed, aggressive and pacing around the cage. "In the remainder of the house there were quite extraordinary scenes in terms, not just of general unpleasantness, but astonishing quantities of dog faeces. It had plainly been in there for a very, very considerable time," he said.

Mr Roy had told Sheriff Sanderson that Caldwell had bought the puppy as company for Ty, but did not realise it had "behavioural problems". It was very nervous, agitated and aggressive with strangers and at times displayed aggression to Ty.

The solicitor added that Caldwell had paid £70 for the largest cage she could find at a pet store and put the puppy in from 8am to 4.30 pm while she was at work. She had asked her boyfriend to tend to the dogs at lunchtimes.

Mr Roy said: "Her position is that the disgraceful state of her home was she simply wasn't coping with the two dogs and wasn't cleaning up after the younger one. She's really ashamed it got to that condition".

Sentence was deferred until May 5.
Source: News.Scotsman.Com - April 17, 2009
Update posted on May 5, 2009 - 4:33PM 

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