Pet sitters kicked and dragged family dog while owners were on holiday

A pair of cruel pet sitters were caught on camera dragging, kicking and punching a family’s three dogs while they were away on a holiday.

Paige Williams and her partner, Bradley Archer, were paid £1,400 to take care of three dogs, two cats and two birds of prey at a property in Solihull, West Midlands, for four weeks in July and August 2024.

The animals’ owners had booked Williams’ company Fur & Filly PetCare Services at their home in Balsall Common while they were away, but when they returned, they discovered the distressing scenes captured on security cameras nestled in the kitchen and the garden.

The shocking footage shows the couple roughly dragging two dogs by their collars and lifting them off the ground.

Another clip shows Williams aggressively slamming one of the animals into the patio slabs as she struggled to get it inside.

The couple can also be seen screaming at the two dogs on several occasions and striking them.

Brazen Williams even appears to address the owners directly in one piece of footage, telling the camera, ‘I will never look after your dogs again, my animals have suffered this month. My animals. I’ve had enough.’

The family submitted 51 videos of evidence to the RSPCA, which launched an investigation.

The incidents involved 13-month-old Ayrton and a 3-year-old dog named Frieda, both German Shorthaired Pointers.

The couple appeared for sentencing at Coventry Magistrates’ Court on April 8 after both pleading guilty to one offense of failing to meet the needs of two dogs under section nine of the Animal Welfare Act.

Magistrates handed Williams a 12-month community order with 140 hours of unpaid work and ordered her to pay £350 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

Archer 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.

RSPCA Inspector Ben Jones, who investigated on behalf of the animal welfare charity, said: ‘It’s a big decision to leave your pets in the care of someone else and, in this case, the family were leaving their pets with someone they felt they could trust.

‘Sadly, Williams and Archer betrayed their trust with care that fell below the standards the law requires, with Ayrton and Feida subject to four weeks of wanton intimidatory behavior and abuse.

‘What made this case even more shocking is that they were clearly aware of the presence of the cameras and even appeared to speak directly to the dogs’ owners through the cameras amid such inappropriate animal care.’

Inspector Jones said Ayrton was the focus of much of the couple’s anger, having been locked in a crate, tethered to a tree and chased around the garden with a stick.

‘They had no concerns about their pets until they returned home and found them to be quieter than normal, cowering if their son was too loud when playing,’ he added.

Both were disqualified from keeping all animals for seven years.

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