DOG TRAINER GIVEN A 12-MONTH COMMUNITY ORDER AFTER BEING FOUND GUILTY OF CAUSING THE DEATH OF A TAMASKAN WOLFDOG
Daniel Fullwood, aged 29 and residing on Breck Lane in Chesterfield, denied causing blunt force injuries to 18-month-old Freya, a dog he was boarding while her owners were away on holiday.He was found guilty of one charge under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 following a five-day trial at Derby Crown Court in February, which was conducted after an investigation and prosecution initiated by the RSPCA.
During a sentencing hearing on April 10, it was decided that Fullwood must complete 120 hours of unpaid community service.
The judge did not impose any ban on him keeping animals.
The court heard that Freya’s owners had entrusted her to Fullwood’s kennels on December 1, 2023, for boarding and training purposes, while they were abroad on holiday and needed assistance with lead walking.
On December 6, while still overseas, her owners received a call from the kennels informing them that Freya was lethargic.
The dog was taken to a nearby veterinary clinic, where attempts at resuscitation lasted 20 minutes before she was declared dead.
A post mortem, conducted at the request of the owners, revealed that Freya had suffered multiple cuts to her liver caused by blunt force trauma.
No additional injuries were found, and the report indicated these injuries resulted from a single traumatic blow to her abdomen.
This evidence prompted her owners to contact the RSPCA, leading to an investigation by the animal welfare charity.
At the trial, Fullwood, who pleaded not guilty, stated that another staff member saw Freya between 8:00 and 8:10 am on December 6.
He added that he began training her around 9:20 to 9:30 am in the kennel yard, with three other staff present.
Initially, he described Freya as “excitable,” but within five minutes her behavior changed, and it was clear she was unwell.
She was instructed to sit and then to walk, but appeared very tired, and eventually, she laid down upon command.
Between approximately 9:35 and 9:40 am, Fullwood claimed he returned Freya to her kennel, where she laid down again.
An emergency vet appointment was made, and by 9:40-9:50 am, she had collapsed.
He carried her to the car, arriving at the vet at 9:55 am, but despite attempts to save her, she could not be revived.
Fullwood expressed uncertainty about how Freya, weighing 24 kg, had sustained her liver injuries, describing her as “ridiculously excited” and bouncing in her kennel.
Another kennel staff member testified that Freya appeared healthy when they attended to her that morning.
They observed Fullwood training her, walking in circles, and noted that everything seemed normal before being told about her sudden collapse and subsequent death.
A vet who reviewed the port mortem report and gave evidence at the trial for the RSPCA, said: “Freya was behaving excitedly at the beginning of her training session with Daniel Fullwood but after five minutes her demeanour changed and she began to appear very lethargic, began dragging her feet and wanted to lie down.
“These clinical signs would have all been associated with her falling blood pressure and the pain associated with the abdominal trauma.
These signs indicate that Freya had sustained the injury to her liver at this time.
“Therefore, the liver injury had occurred at the beginning of the training session, after Freya had been removed from her kennel and before she began showing signs of lethargy five minutes later in response to her rapid blood loss and abdominal pain.
“In my opinion Freya would have suffered as a consequence of the blunt force trauma to her abdomen resulting in multiple lacerations of the liver.” The court was told that CCTV covered the kennel blocks, grass, house, main gate and yard and the system stored the recordings for 30 days.
Footage from 6 December had not been retained and Fullwood had not taken Freya in view of the camera on the yard.
A record of the exact kennel Freya had been kept in was not available, but RSPCA Inspector Pamela Bird, who investigated the case, said she was shown a block of kennels, one of which would have housed her.
In mitigation the court was told that what had happened to Freya was an “isolated incident” reflective of a loss of judgement which had already had a significant impact on Fullwood who had lost his job as a result.
Passing sentence, Judge Martin Hurst said significant force had been used, either in a commercial context or aggravated by professional responsibility, and there was no dispute it led to Freya’s death.
It was also aggravated by the distress caused to her owners.
The judge said the incident was “completely out of character” and that disqualifying Fullwood from keeping dogs would be disproportionate to him and his family.
He also concluded there was no relevant CCTV footage and the incident had not been observed by anybody else.
He said the defendant had homed a very large number of dogs, two in particular could only be exercised or taken to the vet if Fullwood was with them, and they faced being put to sleep if he was banned.
Speaking after sentencing Inspector Bird said: “It was an extremely upsetting case as Freya was so young and her owners were devastated by what happened to their much-loved dog.”
