Northampton pet sitter fined after failing to give cat all its heart medication

A pet sitter who was tasked with feeding a Northampton woman's cat and rabbit while she was on holiday has been found guilty in court.
Unfortunately Chloe had to be put to sleep about a week later following heart problemsUnfortunately Chloe had to be put to sleep about a week later following heart problems
Unfortunately Chloe had to be put to sleep about a week later following heart problems

Hannah Humphrey, 29, of Hannah's Home from Home, was employed to feed Chloe the cat and Google the house rabbit for a week at a house in Great Billing in June 2017.

But when the Chloe and Google's owner, Lorraine Miller, came home she soon discovered that things had not gone as expected.

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Most of the food meant for Google was still unused in the fridge and his cage was dirty. And Chloe's daily heart medication had not been used up as directed, with only four of the seven tablets missing.

Lorraine said: "I checked my security cameras and it showed she had only been four out of the 14 times she was supposed to. On two occasions, she hadn't visited for about 48 hours at a time.

"What made it worse was that she had texted me saying she was there at my house and everything was fine, but the camera and alarm system shows she was in fact somewhere else."

Unfortunately Chloe had to be put down a week after Lorraine returned from holiday, because of complications arising from her heart condition.

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Mrs Humphrey pleaded not guilty to failing to show reasonable care to ensure the needs of an animal are met, but was convicted last Thursday (February 15) after a trial at Northampton Magistrates' Court.

Despite some of Chloe's tablets being used, Mrs Humphrey told the magistrates she believed she was only tasked with popping in to see if the pets had been fed and cared for rather than perform the tasks herself.

Mrs Humphrey also said instructions left on the kitchen worktop did not have her name on them.

She was fined £245. With compensation and a victim surcharge, magistrates ordered her to pay a total of £1,300.

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