(Image: RSPCA Cymru)
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A woman from Newport has been banned from keeping animals for the rest of her life after three of her dogs died when she failed to provide them with food and water.
Jamila Michaela Diane Fletcher Oates, of Dart Road, Bettws, was sentenced at Newport Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 24 February after previously pleading guilty to one offence under the Animal Welfare Act.
The 20-week jail term was suspended for 12 months, and she was ordered to pay £700 in costs along with a £154 victim surcharge.
The dogs
The charge related to three French bulldogs – a blue called Precious, a tri-colour called Destiny and a tri-colour called Diamond. Fletcher Oates had caused unnecessary suffering to all three by failing to provide any food or water over a period of time.
What the inspector found
RSPCA Inspector Simon Evans told the court that he attended a property in Bettws on 16 July last year, where the owner informed him the dogs had been dead for some months but she had not removed the bodies as she had been grieving following the death of her wife.
She confirmed none of the dogs had received any veterinary treatment before they died.
Inspector Evans described finding two purpose-built steel runs at the bottom of the garden, largely hidden from the rest of the house.
He said: “Outside the first kennel was a black bag in which, I had been informed, was the body of the dog Precious. In the second kennel, immediately next to the first, was a small travel cage which contained the desiccated bodies of two further dogs, both French Bulldogs, with the furthest dog being slightly smaller than the nearer one. Both dogs had decomposed and were stuck to a blanket that lined the cage.”
He added: “I then opened up the bag containing the body of the dog Precious which lay outside the first run. There were, in fact, three bags all inside each other and which contained the body of the dog. The body was again desiccated and all of the hips and ribs were clearly visible. The dog’s coat was sloughing off as I handled it and I noted maggots and fly egg cases over the body.”
Vet examination
All three carcasses were examined by a vet, who described them as “mummified”. The vet concluded that Destiny and Diamond had died from dehydration, while Precious had likely had some access to water for part of the time but suffered organ failure which led to her death shortly afterwards.
What she told the RSPCA
During her interview with Inspector Evans, Fletcher Oates said her wife had passed away in February 2024 and she had struggled in the aftermath.
She admitted that during April there was a six-day period when she failed to attend to the dogs’ needs, leaving them without food and water. At the end of those six days, she found Destiny and Diamond dead in their cage.
She said she fed and watered Precious after that, but the dog also died within two to three weeks.
All three dogs had been left where they lay until approximately two to three days before the inspector’s visit on 16 July, when Fletcher Oates had finally been able to face moving one of them and had placed Precious in bags. She expressed remorse during the interview and said there had been no excuse for what happened.
RSPCA response
Following sentencing, Inspector Evans said: “This is a heartbreaking case on many levels. Ultimately three dogs suffered and died after their owner failed to care for them and give them their basic needs. We would urge anyone struggling to seek help.”
