A pair of heavy-handed pet sitters were caught kicking and dragging family dogs they were paid to look after.
Paige Williams, 25, was entrusted with caring for three dogs, two cats and two birds of prey in Solihull while their owners were away for four weeks on holiday in July and August 2024.
Her boyfriend, Bradley Regan Archer, 26, also joined her at the family’s home, in Balsall Common, to help take care of the animals.
But on the family’s return, they discovered devastating footage – captured on cameras in the kitchen and garden.
It showed the couple swearing at the dogs, roughly dragging them by their collars, holding them off the ground, pushing them through doorways and pushing them down.
All of the incidents caught on camera involved a 13-month-old dog called Ayrton and a three-year-old dog called Frieda – both German Shorthaired Pointers – and did not relate to the third dog, the cats or the birds.
Commercial pet sitter Williams – who operated under the name Fur & Filly PetCare Services – was charging £1,400 to look after the animals, though the family didn’t pay the invoice after uncovering the abuse.
The couple appeared at Coventry Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday after Williams pleaded guilty to one offence of failing to meet the needs of two dogs under section nine of the Animal Welfare Act.
Archer had earlier pleaded not guilty and was due to stand trial but changed his plea on the day.
RSPCA Inspector Ben Jones, who carried out the investigation on behalf of the animal welfare charity, said: ‘Poor Ayrton seemed to be at the sharp end of most of Ms Williams and Mr Archer’s anger; he was locked in a crate which left him crying and whining, he was tethered to a tree – with water left just out of his reach – and he was chased around the garden and threatened with a stick.
‘He was handled very inappropriately, with a slip lead used to yank him around and even flip him up into the air.
‘When he jumped up at Archer he was whipped at several times with the same lead.’
A vet who watched the footage said, in her witness statement to the court, that Ayrton and Frieda showed signs of anxiety and stress, adding: ‘Both dogs are handled in a way that would [have] negatively affected their mental welfare (due to crating, being shouted at, inconsistent training) and their physical welfare (dragging by the collar, yanking on slip leads and lifting the dog’s body weight from the ground by the neck).’
In mitigation, the court heard Ayrton was a lively, young dog who could be challenging to deal with. Magistrates were also told that Williams was in the early stages of pregnancy at the time and was struggling to cope with hormonal changes.
But the court also heard the family had been introduced to Williams by a friend and had used her several times over the years, with no concerns, before asking her to have the animals for the four-week period in 2024. They left instructions to care for them as well as emergency numbers.
Inspector Jones said: ‘They had no concerns about their pets until they returned home and found them to be quieter than normal, cowering if their son was too loud when playing. When they checked the cameras they were shocked by what they found.’
In one of the clips where Williams appears to address the owners directly, via the camera, she says: ‘I will never look after your dogs again, my animals have suffered this month. My animals. I’ve had enough.’
Inspector Jones said: ‘It’s a big decision to leave your pets in the care of someone else and, in this case, the family were leaving their pets with someone they felt they could trust.
‘Sadly, Williams and Archer betrayed their trust with care that fell below the standards the law requires, with Ayrton and Feida subject to four weeks of wanton intimidatory behaviour and abuse.
‘What made this case even more shocking is that they were clearly aware of the presence of the cameras and even appeared to speak directly to the dogs’ owners through the cameras amid such inappropriate animal care.’
On watching the footage, the dog owners submitted 51 videos of evidence to the RSPCA.
Magistrates sentenced Williams to a 12-month community order with 140 hours of unpaid work and ordered her to pay £350 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
Archer, who stayed at the property for the four-week job, was also sentenced to a 12-month community order with 40 hours of unpaid work, and the court ordered him to pay £750 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
Both were disqualified from keeping all animals for seven years. This means Williams can no longer be responsible for the care of any animal, and therefore is not allowed to operate as a petsitter.
The dogs – who were ‘subdued, anxious and distressed’ when they were reunited with their family – are doing well, but the family said the experience has had a lasting impact on them all.
