Lurgan woman jailed after appeal dismissed over repeated breaches of animal ban
A Lurgan woman who admitted repeated breaches of a court order barring her from having anything to do with animals, has been jailed after a judge dismissed her appeal.
Affirming the six-month jail sentence handed to the 42-year-old, as well as the 20-year disqualification order, Judge Patrick McGurgan said she “has been given chance after chance”.
He told Craigavon County Court however, it was clear from Lisa Glendinning’s record and her latest offending that she “shows a complete disregard for the law”.
Judge McGurgan said while defence counsel Conor Lunny “left no stone unturned” in his plea in mitigation, the sentences handed down in the lower court were justified.
"Accordingly, I dismiss the appeal and affirm the sentences,” the judge concluded.
Two weeks ago in the magistrates court, Glendinning, from Marlborough Park in Lurgan, was handed jail sentences totalling six months, in addition to being banned from keeping, owning or caring for animals for 20 years.
She had entered guilty pleas to nine charges of breaching a ban on keeping animals and a further charge of failing to ensure the needs of animals, committed between July 10, 2023 and May 17, 2024.
She also admitted breaching a previously suspended jail sentence.
At that stage, a prosecuting lawyer told the court the first breach was in July 2023 when a member of the public reported seeing the defendant walking a white dog along the Tandragee Road.
The court heard there were multiple, further breaches between then and May 2024 and that each was similar, in that Glendinning was reported by members of the public walking a dog.
In between times, on January 26, 2024, an animal welfare officer and a vet attended the defendant’s home with a warrant after there was a report of a dog being kept at her home and not being looked after properly.
When they arrived, the back garden “was in an unkempt state” and the back door was open but a “malodorous and overpowering” stench was coming from it.
The prosecutor outlined how “the kitchen was full of waste and clutter, with no floor space to walk on; the fridge was full of rotting food and not working.”
The living room was also “full of clutter, debris and rubbish” but the vet and the animal welfare officer spotted a tabby cat running upstairs.
The PPS lawyer told the court: “The cat was then spotted in an upstairs bedroom full of clutter. A feeding station was in the doorway, and the room was strewn with empty cat and dog food tins.
"The bathroom next door contained a heavily used litter tray, a bag of cat litter and faecal matter was strewn throughout,” she said.
The cat was removed and successfully re-homed and despite being invited for interviews, Glendinning never attended.
A 10-year banning order had been put in place in 2022, after Glendinning had entered guilty pleas to causing unnecessary suffering to animals, and failing to meet the needs of animals between October and November 2020.
That case arose when, following a complaint to Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, an animal welfare officer obtained a warrant to search the then home of Glendinning.
On gaining entry, the animal welfare officer and council vet were confronted by a strong smell of ammonia, there was rubbish, sharp items, clutter and animal faeces in every room and they found multiple animals being kept in squalid, unhygienic conditions.
The smell was so strong they found it difficult to breathe, a prosecuting lawyer told the court in June 2022.
The court heard how there was no food in the property and the sofa and chairs in the living room were ripped and covered in urine and faeces.
While 15 dogs, three fish and a budgie were removed from the property, the body of a parakeet was found in its cage, its head protruding through the bars.
The carcass of another animal, possibly a degu, was discovered in a hamster run.
When the vet examined the dogs, it was found they all had overgrown coats, their fur matted with dirt and faeces and there was no indication that veterinary treatment had been sought, the court heard.
In that case, Glendinning’s six-month prison sentence was suspended but in court on Thursday, Mr Lunny conceded the defendant is in breach of that sentence.
He submitted however, the breaches were quite some time ago and there has been no further offending since.
The barrister said the dog she was walking “is owned by her mother” and describing Glendinning as “extremely vulnerable and a fairly isolated figure,” he suggested deferring the sentence in order to monitor the defendant’s behaviour.
Revealing that Glendinning has previous convictions for driving while banned and without insurance, Judge McGurgan said it “wasn’t just one breach, there were several” and affirmed the sentences.