A former GP has been banned from keeping cats and dogs for two years after RSPCA inspectors found her County Durham home in a state of squalor, with animals living among rubbish and faeces.
Nicola Stirk, 63, of Hutton Henry, admitted failing to meet the needs of her animals and failing to provide them with a suitable environment at a sentencing hearing at Teesside Magistrates Court on October 20. She was handed a 15-month community order.
Inspector's account of filthy conditions
RSPCA Inspector Rowena Proctor visited the property on February 3 after concerns were raised with the charity. In a written statement to the court, she described finding the passageway littered with faeces and rubbish, a sofa chewed by dogs to the point of being unusable, and floors covered in rubbish, faeces and urine throughout the house.
“The pathway through to the kitchen and the kitchen itself was the same - faeces in almost every single place you could look and every surface and area was just filthy,” she said. “The dogs lived downstairs with a baby gate to prevent them going upstairs and the cats, I was informed, lived upstairs.”
The inspector added that the spare bedroom had rubbish a couple of feet high, the bathroom was filthy, and a litter tray had a built-up carpet of faeces around it. She noted the bath appeared unused and black and brown with dirt, and that the toilet probably did not flush.
Animals removed and rehomed
Stirk was told the animals would need to be removed because of the poor conditions, and a vet who examined them agreed they were suffering or likely to suffer if their circumstances did not change. The court heard Stirk had previously been warned by the RSPCA when conditions began to deteriorate, and a follow-up visit showed improvement, but concerns were raised again later.
All four animals were signed over to the RSPCA. The cats, Charlie and Maddy, recovered well and were rehomed by the RSPCA’s Coventry & District Branch. Mabel the Doberman and Anya the Borzoi were cared for at the charity’s Felledge Animal Centre near Chester-le-Street, where Anya required extensive rehabilitation.
Deputy Centre Manager Luka Atkinson said Mabel was rehomed quickly and settled with her new family. Anya, he said, was “much more challenging” and struggled with everyday life, but after months of work with clinical behaviourists and specialist medication, she has a new home lined up with a male Borzoi she has already met.
Stirk was ordered to pay costs of £900 and a £114 victim surcharge. In mitigation, the court was told she was suffering from mental health issues and wanted help. Magistrates said their aim was to get her support to lead a better quality of life and wanted her signposted to services that could assist.
