Holloway was caught on camera and prosecuted by the RSPCA
A woman who was caught on camera mistreating two dogs has been banned from keeping dogs for five years.
Kay Frances Florence Holloway (date of birth: 15/05/1960), of Wimborne, Dorset, pleaded guilty to an animal welfare offence following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.
Please be warned the footage is of a distressing nature and includes strong language.
Footage, filmed on cameras within Holloway’s home, was shared with the animal welfare charity by a neighbour who had access to the cameras. After seeing the distressing footage, they voiced their concerns.
The clips showed Holloway at home with both her own dog, Shuini, and a friend’s dog, a crossbreed named Loki.
In the footage, which includes instances of verbal threats and physical abuse, she frequently expresses stress and frustration, primarily over Loki, whom she was pet sitting.
She repeatedly mentions that Loki is not house-trained and is urinating inside, including on furniture, the hallway, and her chair.
In another clip, she is seen repeatedly striking her own dog, Shuini, after he soiled his own bed.
A vet, who viewed the clips, said in their report to the court: “There are multiple examples within this footage of Holloway causing physical harm to these dogs. Physical harm is brought about through rough handling, either by yanking the dogs by their collars, slamming them against doors, or, in the case of the smaller dog, lifting the dog by his collar. There are multiple examples of this type of rough handling within these videos.
“Dogs are sentient beings who can feel pain and should be handled gently. Repeated rough handling of this nature can bring about suffering, inflicting soft tissue injuries to the neck and body. It is likely that injuries of this nature will have caused temporary bruising and swelling on these animals.
“In another clip, the systematic beating with a slipper on the smaller dog is clearly meant to inflict pain and the force involved is considerable. The owner appears to react to the dog biting her; however, the bite is likely a fear response and the owner is clearly not in danger at the time of the beating. The owner makes multiple threats of violence to the animals, suggesting that she considers the use of beatings and violence to be legitimate in the treatment of animals.
“The rough handling seen in these videos, together with one example of violent beating, would have brought about significant psychological suffering to these animals. The evidence of psychological suffering in these animals includes high-frequency whimpering noises, cowering in a corner, a crouched stance, pulled-back ears, hesitancy on approach and avoidance behaviour.
“The fact that the larger dog frequently urinates inside the house, although this could be due to a lack of toilet training, is also commonly seen as a result of fear and anxiety. The smaller dog also appears to start toileting inside throughout the sequence of videos, despite Holloway suggesting this was not always the case. This suggests that both dogs are displaying ‘autonomic’ responses, which are a key component of fear-related behaviour in dogs.”
In mitigation, she said she was remorseful. She added that she suffered with numerous health conditions and couldn’t cope with caring for her friend’s dog.
She was also fined £1,415 and ordered to pay £400 costs and a £566 victim when she was sentenced at Poole Magistrates Court on April 15. Shuini was rehomed by the RSPCA.
Inspector Patrick Bailey, who investigated for the animal charity, said: “Dogs feel pain and suffering just like we do and always deserve to be shown kindness and compassion.
“In the footage she uses offensive swear words, her tone of voice is raised, she appears to control the dogs’ ability to exhibit normal behaviours and restricts their options for moving freely around the flat.
“This was not an isolated incident, an isolated use of bad language, or an isolated use of physical force; this can be observed in a number of instances over a two-day period from the footage.”
