RSPCA: Court criticises man for ‘relaxing in hot tub’ while dogs lived in faeces-filled cages

A district judge has criticised a dog owner for “relaxing in a hot tub” while his two bulldogs were being neglected in squalid, faeces-filled crates.

Doncaster man Nicholas Henson, 41, has banned from owning animals for ten years, given a four-month custodial sentence for each of his five offences under the Animal Welfare Act - suspended for 12 months - and handed a 12-month community order. He was also ordered to pay costs of £660 at the Doncaster Magistrates’ Court, following an RSPCA prosecution.

At the sentencing, the district judge said to Henson: “At 8.30pm on the 18 September 2023 you were sitting in a hot tub with a female, no doubt enjoying the relaxing feeling of the warm water whilst two dogs around you were kept in the most squalid possible environment." The judge said "any decent owner" would have been cleaning the two cages. "You are selfish and it is not clear whether this is a case of long-term suffering or short term neglect. However, you put yourself first.”

The court heard that the RSPCA was initially contacted by South Yorkshire Police, who had attended Henson’s property to arrest him on an unrelated matter. When police arrived, Henson was in a hot tub while his two bulldogs were in small crates. In a statement, RSPCA inspector Kim Greaves, who investigated for the animal charity, said the two dogs - named Norris and Milly - were living in the filthy crates, which measured just two feet by two feet.

“Norris looked underweight, I could easily see his spine and ribs. He had no water or food, nor did he have a comfortable resting area In fact the odour of ammonia was overpowering as I bent down to look at him," she said. Milly’s enclosure was difficult to see into, she continued, because of the large amount of stuff piled high in front of it," so much so you could only open the door just wide enough as her body".

“The enclosure was horrific inside, there were three receptacles. Two of them were dishes that were empty and the third was a saucepan with dry food in it, with a pile of faeces on top. There was also a large amount of trodden in faeces throughout the small area," Inspector Greaves said.

There was also a cat at the property, named Twinkles, whose microchip showed that she was owned by Henson. Inspector Greaves noticed that Twinkles was underweight and could feel her ribs when stroking her. She also had a flea infestation.

The court heard that Norris and Milly were examined by a vet, who found that they were underweight with skin conditions and that Milly required surgery to remove a tumour on her leg. The vet’s statement, read in court, described the conditions the dogs were living in as being very cramped and unsanitary with little to no enrichment, adding: “Dogs kept for prolonged periods in cramped conditions are unable to enact their normal behaviours and can result in stress and behavioural problems.”

The statement added that both dogs had not been provided with adequate nutrition, stating: “It is impossible to say if this is due to a recent period of starvation or due to a longer period of partial starvation or underfeeding.”

Norris, Milly and Twinkles have all since been taken into RSPCA care, and have all made good recoveries, the animal charity said.