A KENNELS boss in East Lancashire has been fined after a family dog was attacked and killed under his care.

Licensing officials working for Rossendale Council moved in after the pet was savaged at Heald Lane Farm in Weir, near Bacup.

An investigation discovered that dogs from different households had been place in the same cage at the establishment, run by Richard Coop.

Magistrates in East Lancashire were told they were left alone for around five hours, during which time two dogs escaped.

One of the pets managed to attack and kill the other dog, prompting a complaint to be later lodged by the owners.

Coop, of Heald Lane, Weir, admitted to charges of failing to comply with the conditions of his licence for home boarding under the Animal Establishments Act as well as operating a further boarding establishment without the authority of a licence.

Magistrates fined him £315 with £1,000 court costs and a £31 victim surcharge.

Council officials say when Coop approached the authority for a licence he told them he and his partner ran a grooming parlour in Rawtenstall called Happy Dogs and Pets.

Because of this, they said they took boarded dogs to the shop with them, five days out of seven, the court heard.

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Coop was informed that any dogs boarded at the shop would need to be dealt with under a separate licence.

But he claimed he could not afford to licence both locations so the grooming parlour remained uncovered.

Coop was also found to have boarded dogs from different households together, at the farm, without the written consent of owners, and not secured written proof of vaccinations, as well as not being registered with a vet for emergencies.

Speaking after the case Phil Morton, the council’s public protection manager, said: “Boarding in a home environment should not be seen to be any less controlled than any other boarding establishment and the same care must be taken with treatment and statutory controls.”