A WOMAN who ran a dog rescue centre has been found guilty of cruelty to more than 40 animals under her care. Cassidy Sinclair (50) appeared before Portlaoise District Court yesterday on two charges of cruelty to animals.
The court heard the dogs were allowed to live in a 12-inch deep "slurry mixture" of their own excrement and urine and many had infected open wounds requiring immediate surgery.
Judge Gerard Haughton said he had never seen anything like this in his 17 years on the bench. He fined Ms Sinclair €500 and prohibited her from keeping any dog again for the rest of her life.
Sgt John Malone, Abbeyleix, told the court that on entering Ms Sinclair's house he "had to go back out a few times on point of vomiting due to the smell of faeces and dog urine". He said there was dog faeces in the kitchen measuring two-foot high by four-foot wide and that there were "animal bones scattered on the floor". In his 28 years on the force, this was the worst condition he had ever seen animals living in.
ISPCA inspector Brendan Hughes said on March 12th he found 20 dogs living in a compound measuring 20ft by 30ft and a small garden shed. There were also many dogs living in horrific conditions inside Ms Sinclair's house. The next day with gardaí and a vet, he seized 27 dogs. The ISPCA subsequently seized a further 19 dogs.Ms Sinclair told the court she had been "running a dog rescue of sorts" and that from January to March of this year "things went berserk". She said people were leaving dogs tied to her gateposts. She had sought help from rescue groups including the ISPCA but did not receive any.