The Berkshire brutes banned from keeping animals by the courts

So it is unimaginable that people could ever harm adorable dogs, cats and other furry creatures.

But sadly, it does happen.

Since November 2021, Reading Magistrates’ Court has seen four cases where negligent owners have been banned from keeping animals due to suffering they have caused their pets.

And in one extreme case from May 2015, a Slough man was banned from keeping pets after running a puppy farm and selling a seriously ill dog to an undercover police officer.

Here are their names and the stories behind their pet bans.

Joshua Sharpe

A Winnersh man was spared prison after he was found guilty of killing a Dachshund puppy and a Sphynx kitten.

Joshua Sharpe of Delane Drive, Winnersh, had denied two counts of failing to ensure the needs of an animal were met.

However, following a summary trial at Reading Magistrates' Court on November 30, 2021, the 25-year-old was found guilty on both counts.

The court heard how Sharpe had killed a dachshund puppy called Spark on December 7, 2020.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

He was charged for failing to meet its need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease due to infliction of blunt force trauma and physical violence.

A year later on January 23, 2021, a Sphynx kitten called Peppa was found injured at an address in Yateley.

The Daschund puppy Sharpe killed

The 25-year-old was also found guilty for 'failing to meet its need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease due to the infliction of blunt force trauma and physical violence."

At a sentencing hearing on Friday, March 4, Sharpe was handed a 24-week prison sentence suspended for 22 months.

This means he was free to walk away from court but will be jailed if he commits another offence in the next 22 months.

He will also have to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and take part in up 40 days of rehabilitation activities.

As well as this, he was ordered to pay £500 to both victims and £1,000 in court costs.

Sharpe is banned from owning or being left alone with an animal for ten years.

Rajeshwari Cameron and Adrian Cameron

A Slough couple have been told they cannot keep any animals in their home after breaking a previous pet ban.

Rajeshwari Cameron, 56, and her husband Adrian Cameron, 62, of Northampton Place, Slough, were handed the eight-year ban at a court hearing on Monday, February 21.

This comes after the pair were originally handed a ten-year ban in 2009 following a conviction for causing suffering to their pet dog Lucy.

But in September 2020, Slough Borough Council officers started investigating the couple after tip-offs about their care of their current dog Lila.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Witnesses and veterinary records also indicated the Camerons had owned a dog that was put to sleep and a dog that was sold between March 2018 and June 2019.

Their ownership of these dogs breached their 2009 pet-ownership ban.

In light of this, the couple appeared at Reading Magistrates’ Court to admit to two counts of breaching a disqualification order.

District Judge Goozee, sentencing, said he was satisfied that both Mr and Mrs Cameron fully understood the terms of their original 2009 ban.

The couple were sentenced to a conditional discharge for three years, disqualified from keeping any animals for eight years, charged costs of £140 each and a £20 victim surcharge each.

Arshad Khaliq

A Slough man has been found guilty for keeping his dog in unsuitable conditions in an overgrown garden.

Arshad Khaliq, of Martin Road, Slough, attended Reading Magistrates’ Court on December 23, 2021, where he was convicted under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

A property search on Upton Court Road was made on May 22, 2019, after concerns were raised for a Mastiff dogs’ welfare.

The council’s resilience and enforcement officers and Thames Valley Police entered the property and found the conditions the dog was being kept in breached Section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which was the duty of care to ensure welfare.

The terrible conditions Mr Khaliq subjected his dog to.

The male dog, called Skrappa, was taken by the council who sought permanent possession via Reading Magistrates’ Court.

This was granted on June 28, 2019, and Skrappa is now in a loving home with someone who can meet his needs.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Mr Khaliq was sentenced at the same court on Tuesday, March 8 and has been banned from keeping, owning, or dealing in animals and can’t appeal for the ban to be lifted for 10 years.

He was sentenced to a community order undertaking 250 hours of unpaid work and have 10 days of rehabilitation.

Slough man

Back in May 2015, a Slough man was banned for life from owning any animal after neglecting ten dogs by running a ‘puppy farm’.

The man, who was 65 at the time of his conviction, was handed the sentence after pleading guilty to six charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals and one count of causing unnecessary suffering to a total of ten dogs.

The conviction came about from a Slough Borough Council operation in May 2014 to crack down on the sale and distribution of farmed puppies.

A team of council officers along with RSPCA inspectors and police executed two searches at addresses in Glentworth Place and St Pauls Avenue, Slough.

At the Glentworth Place address, officers undertook a test purchase of two puppies just before the search.

The offender sold two puppies for £350 each to an undercover officer.

A puppy rescued by officers from a Slough 'farm'

Both dogs were very young and in desperate need of medical attention - one was so severely ill with parvovirus that it had to be put down at the scene.

During the search, officers also found three puppies in a small plastic shed with little or no water and a puppy being kept on its own in a filthy garage.

They also found four adult dogs in a pen at the bottom of the garden. All had skin and fur problems caused by the poor living conditions and were skinny, hungry and distressed.

Officers rescued the dogs and seized cash, mobile phones and paperwork relating to the animals.

As well as being banned from keeping animals, the 65-year-old was handed a concurrent 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, for each offence.

He was also ordered to pay £1,000 prosecution costs and an £80 victim surcharge.

Joshua Alexander

A Henley man was banned from keeping pets after causing unnecessary suffering to a dog between February and March 2020.

The black terrier dog, named Goat, was subjected to blunt force trauma, physical violence, intimidatory behaviour and rough handling by Joshua Alexander, of Queens Street Mews.

The 32-year-old admitted harming the pet at Reading Magistrates’ Court in January 2021 and was banned from keeping animals at a hearing at the same court in November 2021.