LEE DOBSON – SOUTH YORKSHIRE

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Backyard breeder Lee Dobson (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008159437780) for the abandonment of five dogs found deceased at his home.

Dobson admitted to a charge under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 after being taken to court by the RSPCA.

The decomposing bodies of the five deceased animals were discovered in June 2025 when police officers visited Dobson’s address to investigate a report that dead dogs had been found there.

RSPCA Inspector Leanne Booth, who attended and gave writen evidence in the case, said: “The lounge area that we were standing in was untidy and cluttered with items indicating that dogs lived here and had been inside the property.”

“There was a large, well-built double dog cage in the middle of the room, it had a dirty faeces-covered bed on one side and faeces on the floor on the other side.
“The back door leading into the garden was open, directly outside the back door in a blue plastic bag was the badly decomposing body of a French bulldog named Effie.

The body still had some skin and fur on but the internal organs had liquified. The smell was horrendous, as was the sight. The police informed me that when they had attended, this body was in the outhouse in the back with a piece of bedding.

“There was a foul odour in the property, a smell of faeces, death and a smell I associate with properties that have a large number of flies in them.”
The body of another dog, which was unidentifiable apart from a rib cage and shoulder blades, was also discovered in the outhouse surrounded by boxes and shoes.
At the top of the garden were three dog kennels with solid runs attached covered in faeces and torn up items. Officers also found foul-smelling black buckets containing a brown lumpy liquid.

The floor of the first kennel was completely covered in compacted faeces which had dried and crumbled under foot. On top of a shoe box was the skeleton of a Dachshund type dog called Betty who had no hair, skin or internal organs. There was also a second skull and other bones belonging to another dog which could not be identified.
In a boxed-in sleeping area in another kennel were the remains of a female Pocket Bully type dog called Karma. Her body was reduced to a skeleton apart from skin on parts of her skull and feet.
The remains were taken to a vet but were too badly decomposed to be examined

During interview with the RSPCA Dobson claimed he thought someone else was caring for the dogs and was unaware of how they had died.
In mitigation, the court heard it was conceded there had been a period of prolonged neglect because of an inadequate delegation of responsibility which had not been appropriately supervised by Dobson.
It was said that he had undergone two major operations in recent years which had left him incapacitated for a significant period of time but he accepted he ought to have checked on the welfare of the animals more carefully. It was put forward on his behalf that it was an offence of omission based on neglect, rather than deliberate cruelty.

Another defendant connected to the case (details tbc) ws sentenced at an earlier hearing, receiving a 22-week suspended sentence and a lifetime ban on keeping animals.
Speaking after the hearing Inspector Booth said: “The sight of the remains of so many dogs was really distressing for myself and the police officers who attended.
“It was clear these pets had been subjected to a sustained period of neglect and the lengthy disqualification orders imposed in this case reflect the seriousness of what happened.”

Sentenced to 22-week suspended prison sentence; ordered to pay £400 in costs and a £154 victim surcharge. 15-year ban which he can contest after just 10 years (expires February 2041)