A man who kept 10 German shepherd dogs in a “filthy and emaciated state” has been jailed for three months and disqualified from keeping animals for 10 years. Gavin Brilly (33), Clarkstown, Rathmolyon, Co Meath pleaded guilty at Navan District Court to six charges of cruelty and neglect of the dogs on 26th January 2024.
A prosecuting lawyer said that when an Ispca official and the Meath County Council dog warden visited the premises all the kennels there had a filthy build-up of faeces and urine on the floor. In most cases the dogs had no option but to lie in these conditions. The dogs were very heavily contaminated. In one case it was thought that a particular dog was female such was the thickness of its coat but it turned out to be male. All the dogs were visibly underweight and some had physical movement difficulty as a result.
Conor Dowling, chief inspector of the Ispca along with Meath County Council dog warden Alan Nolan attended the scene and they found that six dogs were unlicensed. Just one of the dogs was microchipped. The lawyer handed in photos showing excrement smeared all over the floor of the kennels. Five of the nine kennels had multiple dogs in them, three in each and these kennels were too small for such numbers. Five of the nine kennels had no water and four other kennels had dirty water. One dog found there was deceased and partially decomposed.
All of the dogs were “severely emaciated”. The dogs suffered due to lack of care and due to the fact there was no food or water and this could have been avoided if proper diet, housing and veterinary care had been given. Older dogs had anatomical abnormalities which could be attributed to nutritional deficiencies.
A veterinary expert had reported that the dogs were severely underfed, all underweight and housed in in inappropriate conditions and suffered considerably, the lawyer said. When the Ispca official had released the dogs they ran out “and tried to lick anything that had moisture in it”.
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A defence lawyer said his client had entered a guilty plea at an early date to stave off the necessity of bringing witnesses to court. His client had expressed total responsibility for all matters . He admitted the dogs were neglected to a serious extent. He said that in October last his client had had an unusual accident while out golfing. A ball had bounced off a steel barrier and struck him causing concussion. He
had had certain difficulties after that event. He was also going through a “rough time” because of a condition affecting a close relative. He also had other family difficulties at the same time. and he was trying to cope with that.
The lawyer handed in photographs which he said showed that the dogs had previously been kept in excellent condition. Things had come apart very quickly in his life which led to the dogs falling into the condition in which they were found.
Judge Eirinn McKiernan said the case was a very serious one. These were wonderful animals who relied completely on their owner. She believed their ill- treatment could not be tolerated on any level. “It is completely and utterly unacceptable”. She imposed a three-month prison sentence on the accused, directed him to pay costs to a total of €23,000 and disqualified him from keeping
animals for 10 years.
