Dog owner 'heartbroken' after sitter left her two beloved pets to die in hot car
A woman whose dogs died after a pet-sitter left them in a car on a hot day has spoken out after her devastating experience.
Brigend-based Steph Pendleton left her dogs Lila and Phab in the care of Janine Maloney, who offered her services online as a pet sitter in Bridgend under the name Pet Patrol Club. Thinking that Janine was a respectable carer for her dogs, Steph used her services when she went on a family holiday in September 2021.
However, Steph returned to Maloney’s home to find the dogs had died. Now, it has emerged that the dogs were left in a car by Maloney on a particularly hot day. A post-mortem examination carried out on the dogs indicated they had died as a result of heat stroke and stress.
In written evidence from a vet they said they believed that Lila and Phab “had been caused to suffer” and their needs “had not been met to the extent required by good practice”. The evidence described how the dogs had been left in the car without any access to water and with no windows open or air conditioning.
Animal-lover Steph said she was “heartbroken” by what happened and her life has never returned to normal. After a complicated court process, former pet sitter Maloney was handed a 16-week suspended prison sentence at Cardiff Magistrates Court in February last year, but last week she was jailed for breaching the terms of her order.
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Convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to two female French bulldogs by failing to adequately ensure that they were provided with reasonable care and supervision once enclosed in a vehicle in circumstances adverse to their health and well-being, the disgraced pet-sitter was caught owning a dog and keeping animals - despite being banned from doing so for five years.
Lila (left) and Phab on holiday in west Wales this year (Steph Pendleton)Maloney appeared again at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on February 20 this year for the breaches after she pleaded guilty to breaching a ban between May and July 2023 and again in December 2023. The RSPCA, prosecuting, told the court it had obtained evidence that Maloney was breaching her ban by owning a dog and was also caring for other people’s dogs, reported WalesOnline.
Maloney, of Bridgend Road, Aberkenfig, received 18 weeks’ custody and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154. An order was put in place for her dog Badger to be rehomed within 14 days. She is also banned from keeping dogs from February 6, 2023.
Speaking after Maloney’s sentencing, Steph said that members of the public had notified her about Maloney’s flouting of the order, which led to Steph working with friends and the RSPCA to bring her back to court.
She said: "We got evidence that she was still working with dogs under a different name and offering her services to people locally. I was informed by the local community.
"I found that she’d even started a new company transporting horses. I asked people she’d contacted to get in touch with the RSPCA and together we’ve managed to bring her back to court and she’s finally in prison."
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