• Janine Maloney left Lila and Phab in car on day when temperatures reached 72F 

A dog-sitter, who killed two French bulldogs by leaving them in a hot car for hours without water, has been jailed after authorities found she owned a dog despite being banned from doing so.

Janine Maloney, who runs Pet Patrol Club, was being paid to look after Lila and Phab in south Wales for the weekend while owner Steph Pendleton, 63, was away on a boating holiday.

The 50-year-old pet-sitter left the dogs, both female and four years old, in her car without fluids on a day when temperatures reached 72F (22C).

When Ms Pendleton returned from her break she discovered that her two beloved bulldogs, which she described as her ‘soul companions’, had died.

It had been the first time the heartbroken owner had left her pets with anyone.

Now Maloney faces jail time after she breached a court order disqualifying her from owning animals for five years.

The dog-sitter was handed the ban after a vet judged that the bulldogs had ‘been caused to suffer’ and their needs had ‘not been met to the extent required by good practice’. 

She pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering and was also given a 16-week suspended prison sentence.

The RSPCA presented evidence at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on February 20 that Maloney, who comes from Aberkenfig, near Bridgend, was owning a dog and still looking after other people’s pets. 

Judge Charlotte Murphy sentenced the pet-sitter to 18 weeks in jail.

She said: ‘My view is this is a flagrant and deliberate breach where you have chosen to deliberately ignore the order. 

‘Your offending continued even after a summons was served upon you.’

Ms Pendleton worked with the RSPCA to prosecute Maloney after members of the public had tipped her off that she was still dog-sitting. 

She said: ‘I’m very pleased. I feel I’ve now got some justice for my girls.

‘My big worry was she’d keep getting away with it. 

‘She flouted the law and everyone was beginning to say: “It was a total waste of time with the suspended sentence.”

‘I think justice matters and it was very important she was punished for me. 

‘I hope that my story can warn people to be vigilant when looking for pet sitters.’

The RSPCA thanked members of the public for helping them with the investigation.

RSPCA deputy chief inspector Gemma Cooper said: ‘We’d like to thank those who helped us in our investigations. 

‘It is important to reiterate to the public that we rely on them to tell us if someone has breached a ban. 

‘We depend on the public to be our eyes and ears and we take breaches of bans very seriously – as do the courts.’