Faeces, dirt and rubbish were found all over the home of a dog trainer from County Durham who had several animals under her care.

Hannah Critchlow offered dog walking, behaviour and training services before being banned from keeping animals for a year after multiple dogs were found living in filthy conditions in her home.

Inspectors from the RSPCA, accompanied by police, entered the 30-year-old’s house in Peterlee on 3 September 2024.

Some of the floors of her property at Bourne Street were not visible because of the huge amounts of faeces and rubbish.11 dogs were removed because of the squalid and unhygienic conditions they were living in.

Two of the 11 dogs found inside the house were being boarded there while their owners were on holiday, and others required urgent veterinary intervention for untreated wounds.

RSCPA officers had said upon entering her property, they were nearly sick because of the smell of ammonia. Critchlow was given a banning order after pleading guilty to one Animal Welfare Act offence at a hearing at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 2 April.

Critchlow had previously agreed with the police to give the RSPCA access to see the dogs on 18 August, but she had failed to show up twice for scheduled appointments on the day.

Further visits were made until Critchlow’s van was seen outside the property in September. She allowed the RSPCA inspector and the police inside and the dogs were seized on animal welfare grounds.In her written statement to the court, Inspector Rowena Proctor said: “The conditions inside were deplorable and some of the worst I have ever seen in eight years with the RSPCA.“The living room was almost beyond description with floorboards not attached and sitting on top of several feet of dirt, faeces and mess, which all looked like it had been pushed to one side to create a walkway of some sort.

“The stairs were littered in faeces which had been crushed into the carpets, presumably by the dogs and Hannah walking on it. The upstairs landing area had almost no visible floor as again, it was littered in faeces and this spread into the spare room.”

Further RSPCA officers arrived to help transport the dogs to a local veterinary practice. Seven of them were given a body condition score of two out of nine, on a scale where one is emaciated and nine is obese.The vet who examined them said six of the group had clear signs of dermatitis with hair loss and reddening.

One, a male collie called Swift, had multiple sores on his body and the pads of his feet, and needed veterinary intervention.

Another dog, a male lurcher called Jasper, also required treatment for multiple, contaminated wounds.In written evidence, the vet who examined the dogs said: “After viewing the images of the living conditions they were found in, it is my opinion that they were unhygienic, dangerous and unsafe. This environment was not suitable for a dog to be kept in.”

During the investigation the RSPCA was told Critchlow ran a business called UpDog Walking, Training & Behaviour and also fostered dogs.

Seven of the dogs – a spaniel crossbreed, a shih tzu, a collie, a lurcher, a whippet and two malinois – belonged to Critchlow.

Two others, both Romanian crossbreeds, were being home boarded by her while their owners were on holiday. She was also fostering two dogs, a malinois and a collie, on behalf of an animal charity.

The court was told that Critchlow was effectively living at the house at the time and had poor mental health. She had no previous convictions and had worked for 10 years looking after dogs at a private kennels before setting up her business.Her solicitor said that if she was disqualified for any period of time she would go out of business and therefore a ban would be disproportionate to the offence.

Critchlow, now of Birkett Terrace in Trimdon, was also fined £200 and ordered to pay costs of £250 and an £80 victim surcharge.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…