A WOMAN who was behind an Ellesmere Port dog home boarding service has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 and banned from keeping animals after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to dogs.

Amanda Le Bretton, formerly of Ellesmere Port, had been trading as ‘Home from Home Dog Retreat’, providing home boarding for dogs in the town.

Prosecuting on behalf of Cheshire West and Chester Council, Ian Moore said Le Bretton was previously of good character but the council had been made aware of videos showing Le Bretton hitting dogs in her care.

The videos were analysed by a vet in Runcorn, who confirmed four instances of dogs being mistreated at the centre.

Video footage was shown to the court of the four incidents. The first showed a white poodle grasped around the neck and slapped, the second saw Le Bretton kicking a Westie, causing it to yelp, the third saw Le Bretton hitting a white poodle with an open hand in response to the dog having urinated on the floor, and the fourth showed Le Bretton picking up a toy breed dog by the scruff of the neck, causing the dog to squeal repeatedly.

The vet said the behaviour was "not appropriate" for someone in her position, adding the licence holder’s actions definitely caused anxiety and compromised the mental welfare of the dogs in her care.

'Out of character'

Cheshire West and Chester Council revoked the licence of Le Bretton's home boarding business for dogs in Ellesmere Port in August 2022, after she was interviewed and admitted the offences.

The court heard Le Bretton was remorseful for what she had done, and had apologised to the dogs' respective owners, saying she had acted "out of character".

Defending, Steven Ferns said Le Bretton had been going through a stressful time at the time of the incidents, where she had felt "trapped in her marriage" and had wanted to divorce her partner but he refused, and the situation had been made worse during lockdowns.

She believed her ex-husband had posted the video footage of the incidents, some of them on cameras she was not aware existed. The videos were posted on Facebook and Le Bretton had been "dealt with in the court of public opinion", and was subjected to threats, eggs thrown at her house, and she had to call the police to remove a stranger who had turned up outside her home.

Le Bretton's new partner had found life in Ellesmere Port "intolerable", and the couple had since moved out of the country. Le Bretton had returned to the UK for the conclusion of the court case.

Mr Ferns said Le Bretton felt her "life has been destroyed" and had lost a lot of her friends, and had no desire to work with animals ever again, and had been suffering with anxiety and depression.

'Reputation is shattered'

Chair of magistrates Mark Johns said there had been a "breach of trust" in Le Bretton mistreating dogs she had been paid to look after.

He said it would be easy to explain had it been one incident as "temporary loss of control", but this had happened on four occasions.

He added: "You have expressed much sorrow for it. Your reputation is shattered. You realise that you have no future in the care of animals."

Le Bretton was fined £750 for each of four charges of causing unnecessary suffering to dogs, disqualified from keeping, owning, dealing or transporting animals, and ordered to pay £1,235 prosecution costs and a £190 victim surcharge.

Mr Johns also expressed thanks to Cheshire West and Chester Council for bringing the prosecution in what was a sensitive case.

The council advises if you are looking for businesses that can be trusted to look after your pets, always check that any home boarder used is licensed by the council. This ensures that regular checks are made on the business and that officers have the powers to fully investigate any allegations made.