Owner of unlicensed West Midlands kennels where police found 'burial mound' with nine dead dogs avoids jail

A police sniffer dog found the mound at Hatton Boarding Kennels near Shifnal and the bodies of nine dogs were exhumed, Telford Magistrates Court heard this week.

West Mercia Police raided the kennels in January this year after a social worker for a vulnerable woman who had left 11 dogs there raised concerns that she was at risk of being exploited - though at least three other dogs had already suffered during stays at the business, which operated without a licence for more than two years.

One dog died at the kennels and another was euthanised shortly after its owner collected her pet, underweight and suffering painful injuries, from the kennels after a stay of 11 or 12 days.

Billy Woodhouse, now 27, was running the business having taken it over from his mother after she died.

Mike Davies, prosecuting for Shropshire Council, told the court Woodhouse’s licence to run the kennel had been suspended in December 2022 “due to concerns about the compliance with the licensing conditions”.

But in August 2024 the council’s licensing department received a complaint from a woman after her dog Stewie was put down following a stay at Hatton Boarding Kennels.

In two statements to police the woman said she had learned about the business from adverts online which said the enterprise was licensed. In her statements she said she was “very angry” when she learned the truth.

The woman said that when she collected Stewie on August 12 having paid £140 in cash, Woodhouse handed the animal over wrapped in a towel with only his face visible.

She said Woodhouse told her the dog “hadn’t been well for a few days” but that he had not taken him to a vet, Mr Davies said.

Woodhouse claimed he had sent the woman a text message to update her, but she only received it later that day.

“The defendant remarks to her ‘in my experience, he only had a few days left’,” Mr Davies told the court. The prosecutor said the dog was “seven or eight” years old although Woodhouse’s representative said he was actually 15.

Having retrieved him from the kennels Stewie’s owner took him to a vet in Willenhall. He had been seen at the same practice a month prior and been deemed healthy enough to receive a vaccination.

But on being presented in August he was found to have a flat injury on his face, scabs on his tail, abscesses on both hind legs and yellow staining to his white fur. He was put down soon after.

“He had lost a lot of weight,” the owner said. “I could see his bones. He wouldn’t lift his head. He wasn’t breathing properly, he was very subdued.”

The vet found Stewie’s pressure wounds were “consistent with laying in one position for 24 hours”, the court heard.

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Woodhouse was prosecuted in relation to those matters in early 2025 and pleaded not guilty to animal welfare and fraud offences, the court heard.

But in November 2025, while he was awaiting trial, another woman whose pet died contacted the authorities.

The woman said she paid £96 to leave her dog, Enzo, at Hatton Boarding Kennels in August of that year, but days later she was told he died there.

Months later, having found Google reviews for the kennels from other disgruntled customers, she raised concerns with the council.

Another woman left two of her dogs, Bruno and Nala, in Woodhouse’s care on four occasions between the summer of 2023 and New Year’s Day 2026.

Mr Davies told the court the woman had noticed disparaging reviews of the kennels and mentioned them to Woodhouse but he had dismissed them as “rubbish” and “made up over minor issues”.

For the most recent stay, over last Christmas, she was promised regular photo updates from the kennels but was not provided any.

Upon collecting her pets in the new year she noticed they were “dirty and visibly skinny”. She estimated one of the dogs had lost “about a third of her body weight”, Mr Davies said.

Police called

Around the same time, Woodhouse had taken in 11 dogs belonging to a woman who was suffering severe mental health issues and was unable to look after them herself, the court heard. Some of the animals had been rescued from abroad.

In January a social worker became concerned the woman was at risk of being exploited financially, and made several attempts to contact Woodhouse.

On January 14 she called the police; the following day officers entered Hatton Boarding Kennels and made the grim discovery.

“During the course of the search a police dog found what appeared to be a burial mound,” Mr Davies told the court.

The bodies of nine dogs, believed to have been the vulnerable woman’s, were exhumed.

At the time West Mercia Police said: "On entry, sadly, officers found nine deceased dogs, and they have been taken to a veterinarian surgery. Three cats, which were alive, were also found and taken to a charity."

Woodhouse, of Wolverhampton Road, Shifnal, later admitted failing to ensure an animal’s welfare, fraudulent business by a sole trader, seven counts of carrying on animal-related activity without being registered and one count of carrying on animal-related activity without a licence.

Mitigating for Woodhouse, Martin McNamara said the defendant had taken on running the business after the death of his mother and had good intentions but became overwhelmed.

“This is a man who has had significant mental health issues. He was not capable of running the kennels.

“He couldn’t cope with the situation he found himself in and failed to take the necessary action to resolve that situation.

“He was struggling with his own mental health and was not making reasoned decisions; dogs and owners have suffered as a result.”

Mr McNamara said Woodhouse is the sole carer for two family members and has been threatened by people in relation to the case.

He said the kennels have been closed for “a number of months”.

The magistrates handed down a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and banned Woodhouse from keeping any animals for 10 years. He cannot appeal the order for five years.

He was also ordered to pay £1,000 towards court costs and a victim surcharge of £187.