A man who neglected two Jack Russell terriers, allowing them to become severely obese—one so ill it had to be put down—has been banned from keeping animals for 15 years and handed a suspended prison sentence. William Johns, 68, of Lime Court, Swansea, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and appeared for sentencing at Swansea Magistrates’ Court on June 22. He received an eight-month custodial sentence suspended for two years, and was ordered to pay £400 court costs and a £187 victim surcharge.
RSPCA Finds Extremely Overweight Dogs
The RSPCA, which brought the prosecution, found the terriers—named Cai and Lily—to be grossly overweight when officers visited Johns’ home in Swansea. Cai was suffering from heart failure and was in such a collapsed state that a vet decided the kindest course of action was to euthanize him. Lily was taken into the charity’s care on a later visit.
RSPCA animal rescue officer Ethan Griffin visited the defendant’s home on September 24, 2025, when he saw Cai in a collapsed state with urine stains over his body. Johns agreed to let the officer take the dog to a vet. On a follow-up visit, the defendant was advised to take Lily to a vet to be weighed and placed on a diet, but he refused to cooperate with the charity’s officers.
Inspector Shocked by Dog's Size
RSPCA Inspector Gemma Cooper went to Johns’ home with officers from South Wales Police on December 14, 2025, when Lily was seized. In a statement to the court, the inspector said: “When I went to take her from the police officer it was difficult to hold her like a normal dog as her torso was just so rounded and solid. In my 15 years as an RSPCA inspector I have never seen a dog so overweight.”
A vet who examined Cai said the dog was in the end stage of heart failure. He was extremely overweight with a body condition score of nine out of nine, where five is a healthy weight. Lily also had a body condition score of nine out of nine. A vet who examined her said she was out of breath most of the time at the clinic. “She weighed 14.2 kg and the level of obesity was one of the worst I have seen,” the vet stated. “She had difficulty moving around and by keeping a dog in this abnormal state the owner failed in their duty of care to provide a suitable diet and control their pet’s weight. The dog suffered for a prolonged period of at least a month if not longer.”
Lily's Recovery and Rehoming
Lily was put on a suitable diet and in the first month in the care of the RSPCA she lost more than 2 kg in weight, making a good recovery. She will now be rehomed by the charity. In mitigation, the court was told the defendant was unable to care for the dogs due to health issues, including Parkinson’s disease and reduced mobility after a leg amputation. He later agreed to sign Lily over into the care of the RSPCA.
Speaking after the sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Gemma Cooper said: “These poor dogs were allowed to balloon in weight by the defendant’s inability to provide a balanced diet for them. One of them became so ill that he had to be put to sleep and had we not returned to the property, the second dog may also have become seriously unwell.”
