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Siblings fined £8k after dogs left in squalor

A brother and sister who kept 29 dogs in filthy and cramped conditions at their Staffordshire home have been found guilty and must pay out £8,000.

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Paul Wiggin and Rosemary Wiggin

Rosemary and Paul Wiggin had denied failing to ensure the welfare of the dogs but were found guilty at trial. They were both given conditional discharges as the district judge said any harsher sentences were not possible as she was a full-time carer for her mother and he worked shifts.

RSPCA inspectors seized the dogs, one found whimpering in a cupboard, during a five hour visit to the house in Burntwood on January 31 last year.

They said the property was too dirty and too cramped for so many animals, 21 adult dogs and eight puppies.

Officials found faeces ground into carpets, fly eggs in food that had been left out and some dogs soaking wet and without shelter in the garden. Rosemary Wiggin was given a three-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £1,000 costs, while her brother must pay £7,000 costs and got a one-year conditional discharge.

Both were also banned from keeping dogs for 12 months.

District Judge Shamim Qureshi, said he had never given a disqualification for less than 10 years before but in this case the dogs were 'considered part of the family'.

The court heard there were now 44 dogs in boarding kennels after some had litters, and the total boarding costs since they were taken had reached £75,000.

But the judge said a fine for the pair was 'out of the question' as Rosemary Wiggin was unemployed and her brother did not earn enough. Rosemary Wiggin had insisted the animals were fed roast chicken and bought garden loungers to sunbathe on.

The 49-year-old along with her brother Paul Wiggin, 53, both of Queen Street, were found guilty of failing to ensure the welfare of the dogs, most of which are Shih Tzus, after a trial at Burton Magistrates Court.

RSPCA inspector Jayne Bashford told the court that she arrived at their home on July 31 last year after the charity received a call from someone expressing concern for the welfare of the animals. She said she was let in by Rosemary Wiggin and immediately found the atmosphere to be 'chaotic' with lots of dogs barking.

Rosemary Wiggin had denied she was breeding the dogs and claimed her brother helped her with food and vet bills when she lacked the money. She said she had 'lifelong interest' in dogs and had previously kept Jack Russells.

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