Man banned from keeping dogs after selling puppies out of sack on Soho street

Another one blaming alcoholism for his cruelty!!

Created: 03/09/2014 (Dog World Newspaper)

Man banned from keeping dogs after selling puppies out of sack on Soho street

A MAN who swung a sack of Jack Russell puppies as he sold them in the street has been banned from keeping dogs for three years.

Kevin Mellon, 47, was hawking the puppies for £70 each from a Soho pavement when a member of the public called the police, Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court heard.

Only four of the six dogs in the bag were retrieved; one was bought and another snatched by a passer-by.

Mellon was also seen to kick a bitch thought to be the puppies’ mother. She was later returned to Mellon’s partner, 49-year-old Iona Mohammed.

The couple appeared in the dock together for the hearing last week, during which Mellon ranted throughout.

"A witness says that at about 1am he saw a crowd gathering around some Jack Russell terriers,” prosecutor Amanda McCabe told the court. "He noticed the male defendant shouting and picking up the dogs. The witness then noticed he was with a female, Mrs Mohammed.

"Within a few minutes Mrs Mohammed produced puppies from a bag that was on the ground and scooped out six puppies in total. A crowd was gathering, and the witness phoned the RSPCA.




Freezing night

"Mellon was shouting, ‘I’m selling the puppies’. At one point, he began to swing the bag around while there were puppies inside. They must have been cold, especially while they were laid out on the pavement in the sack on a freezing night. A witness is also said to have seen Mr Mellon kicking the adult dog in a violent movement.

"The bitch was neutered and subsequently returned to Mrs Mohammed.”

The court heard that in 2010 Mellon had been banned from keeping dogs.

Ifreke Asuquo, who represented the pair, said: "No damage was deemed to have been endured by those dogs at all.

"This was an isolated incident. Mr Mellon believes that his alcoholism is the source of his offending.”

Mellon of Dynham Road, West Hampstead, North London was convicted of failing to ensure animal welfare and selling animals in the street. He was also ordered to pay £110 costs and to serve a six-month community order with an alcohol treatment requirement.

Mohammed, of the same address, was convicted of the same offences and was ordered to pay £170 costs.
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Sigh.

Maybe I'm being a bit thick here, but I don't understand how they can return the adult dog to her when she lives with someone who is banned from keeping dogs.