A family were left devastated when they looked at CCTV cameras they had installed to check on their dogs while in Thailand and found evidence of their trusted pet sitters’ abuse.
School headteacher Natalie Horlor and her husband Duncan had embarked on the dream holiday with their two children and hired Paige Williams, 25, to look after their German Shorthaired Pointers.
But instead of reassuring them that their three dogs, two cats and two birds of prey were well cared for, the cameras captured Williams and her partner Bradley Archer, both 26, kicking and dragging their beloved pooches by their collars.
Williams, of Knowle, West Midlands, charged the Horlors £1,400 to care for the pets in their absence.
Upon their return home to Solihull, the family found their dogs ‘subdued, anxious and visibly distressed.’
The Horlors had hired Williams’ firm Fur & Filly PetCare Services on a number of occasions before, having been introduced by a family friend.
Mr Horlor, 49, said: ‘Paige was the relative of friends of ours and had come recommended by several people who had used her in the past.
‘She had pets of her own, had looked after other animals locally, and had even completed animal welfare training courses.
Paige Williams (pictured), 25, was entrusted with caring for three dogs, two cats and two birds of prey in Solihull while their owners were away for four weeks on holiday in July and August 2024
Her boyfriend, Bradley Regan Archer (pictured), 26, also joined her at the family’s home, in Balsall Common, to help take care of the animals
‘We’d used her multiple times to look after the animals overnight or for a weekend – and had no issues.
‘We asked her if she’d look after them for four weeks while we went on a family holiday to Thailand in the summer of 2024.
‘It was due to cost us £1,400 and the plan was for her to move into our home and look after the animals there.’
The couple had no concerns while they were away.
But when they returned home, they received a message from someone who was worried about how the dogs had been treated by the pet sitter and her boyfriend.
The family checked the camera footage and found evidence of the couple roughly handling, hitting, kicking, and screaming at 13-month-old Ayrton and three-year-old Freida.
The other animals – an elderly dog called Aero, two cats called Sterling and Moss, and two birds of prey called Hatti and Ace – were not subject to the abuse.
The family contacted the RSPCA and police to report their concerns, submitting 51 video clips to the animal welfare charity who launched an investigation.
In one of the clips where Williams appears to address the owners directly, via the camera, she says: ‘I will never look after your dogs again, my animals have suffered this month. My animals. I’ve had enough.’
Footage showed the couple swearing at the dogs, roughly dragging them by their collars, holding them off the ground, pushing them through doorways and pushing them down
The two abused dogs – Ayrton and Frieda are now doing well, but the family said the experience has had a lasting impact on them all
Mrs Horlor, 43, said: ‘Since this happened we haven’t felt comfortable going away and leaving the animals with another pet sitter.
‘We’ve cancelled holidays and juggled plans so that one of us is always at home with them, or so that a family member can stay with them.’
Duncan added: ‘Our dogs, Frieda and Ayrton, were not themselves when we returned from our holiday.
‘They were subdued, anxious and visibly distressed.
‘They now become extremely unsettled if we leave them, even for a short period, and have shown lasting behavioural changes, including fear of strangers and loud noises.
‘Perhaps one of the most unsettling things is that the abuse was captured on our own home cameras.
‘Cameras we had installed purely to check on our animals during short absences. We never imagined they would record something so distressing.
‘The betrayal we feel is incredibly deep.
‘This incident has affected our peace of mind, our dogs’ wellbeing and our ability to enjoy time away as a family.
‘We now live with increased anxiety and a deep sense of betrayal that we placed our animals, who are members of our family, in the care of someone who harmed them.’
RSPCA Inspector Ben Jones, who carried out the investigation on behalf of the animal welfare charity, said: ‘Poor Ayrton seemed to be at the sharp end of most of Ms Williams and Mr Archer’s anger; he was locked in a crate which left him crying and whining, he was tethered to a tree – with water left just out of his reach – and he was chased around the garden and threatened with a stick.
‘He was handled very inappropriately, with a slip lead used to yank him around and even flip him up into the air.
‘When he jumped up at Archer he was whipped at several times with the same lead.’
A vet who watched the footage said in a statement read to the court that Ayrton and Frieda showed signs of anxiety and stress.
They added: ‘Both dogs are handled in a way that would [have] negatively affected their mental welfare (due to crating, being shouted at, inconsistent training) and their physical welfare (dragging by the collar, yanking on slip leads and lifting the dog’s body weight from the ground by the neck).’
Both Williams and Archer pleaded guilty to one offence each under the Animal Welfare Act.
Magistrates sentenced Williams to a 12-month community order with 140 hours of unpaid work and ordered her to pay £350 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
Archer, who stayed at the property for the four-week job, was also sentenced to a 12-month community order with 40 hours of unpaid work, and the court ordered him to pay £750 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
Both were disqualified from keeping all animals for seven years. During this time Williams can no longer be responsible for the care of any animal, and therefore is not allowed to operate as a pet sitter.
