Woman who kept dogs in filthy kennels gets pet ban

A woman who kept more than 40 dogs in squalid conditions at a Sheffield allotment has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Police found the animals "panting for water" in kennels with "concrete floors and inadequate bedding" at a plot run by Amini Ato on Infield Lane in the city, in May 2024.

Some of the dogs had skin and mobility issues, while a number had to be put down because their health was so bad, officers said.

Ato, 51, was handed an 18-week sentence suspended for 12 months at Sheffield Magistrates' Court on Monday.

She was also ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and was disqualified from keeping animals for seven years.

The dogs, two of which were unregistered XL bullies, were taken into the care of South Yorkshire Police and the RSPCA after they were discovered.

Veterinary checks showed that the dogs had been used for breeding.

Ato, of Middle Hay Place in Sheffield, had previously pleaded guilty to owning two XL bullies and three charges of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

The officer in charge of the case, PC Dean Leadwood, said: "What was uncovered was nothing short of heartbreaking and no animal should ever be forced to live in the conditions we found them in.

"While some dogs had to be sadly put to sleep, many were rehabilitated in RSPCA care and went on to find loving homes."

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