Owen Dempsey has been jailed after operating an illegal dog sitting business from his home in Liverpool – he headbutted a grieving owner who was handed a dead French bulldog in a plastic bag
An illegal dog sitter presented an owner with his dead pet in a plastic bag before assaulting him.
Owen Dempsey headbutted Martin Hulse after he arrived to collect his French bulldog named Tank, which had died while Dempsey was being paid to look after it. Mr Hulse and his partner returned from their holiday early after being told their beloved three-year-old pup had died.
Dempsey turned violent when they returned to collect his body before questioning him over the death, headbutting his victim then repeatedly punching him after asking: “Are you f***ing accusing me of killing your dog?” Dempsey and his wife had previously been in charge of a German Shepherd which went missing and was never seen again by its owners.
Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard Mr Hulse began using Dempsey as a dog sitter in June 2024 after spotting a post advertising his services online. This was initially said to have passed “without any issue”, with “no reason to suggest that he was mistreating the dogs”.
Angela Conlan, prosecuting, outlined how this led to Mr Hulse and his wife Julie booking for their five dogs to stay with Dempsey, of Fazakerley, Liverpool, for a 10-day period, beginning on August 28 that year, as they went abroad on holiday. However, on September 8, they received a FaceTime call from the 36-year-old and his partner Rachel informing them Tank had died, the Liverpool Echo reports.
While the bulldog had undergone a “routine operation” six weeks earlier, he was said to have “seemed fine” prior to being left in Dempsey’s care, with the owners having “no reason to be concerned about him being looked after by Owen”. They then brought their return flight forward to that evening, asking for their pet to be kept in a freezer until they could collect him.
Under the animal welfare laws, people providing home boarding for dogs as a business must hold a valid licence. Attending the address at around 7.30am on September 9, having returned to the UK late the previous night, Mrs Dempsey was said to have handed Tank over to Mrs Hulse in a plastic bag. While she was “adamant he had been put in the freezer”, his body was described as “not cold” and “starting to smell really badly”.
Dempsey then walked down the stairs and “appeared angry”, asking “are you f***ing accusing me of killing your dog?”. He was then reported to have headbutted Mr Hulse to the side of the face before “throwing a couple of punches”, connecting with his head and arms.
The complainant fell backwards into the living room as a result of these blows, at which stage Dempsey “continued to assault him” before Mr Hulse managed to push him away. His assailant then told him “I’m not gonna hit you again because you’re an older bloke” before “running upstairs”, at which stage the couple left and contacted the police.
Dempsey was found guilty of assault in his absence following a trial. He also admitted breaching a community order, imposed in September last year in relation to operating as an unlicensed dog boarder. While he successfully completed a 12-week curfew as part of this sentence, he failed to attend appointments with the Probation Service on eight occasions without reasonable excuse. A probation officer told the court that he was “not seeming remorseful of his actions or appearing willing to change his ways”.
Dempsey has previous convictions for assault and an offence of affray in Poland, as well as receiving 27 months in prison for causing serious injury by dangerous driving in 2020. David Kilty, defending, said on his behalf: “He did not attend the trial. He has lost his opportunity to give his side of the story. He does have a side of the story, but that has gone.
“The complainant came to his house, his door. There is upset, understandably. One can understand that, as an animal lover. Obviously, he has been dealt with for other matters. He is to be dealt with for this matter alone. There is mention of a head in the complainant’s statement. He has put himself in that position by not being able to advance his account and challenge what is suggested.
“What I can say is, he is someone whose last assault was, I think, in 2013. At the time, he was going through a stressful period. He was involved in a car accident and has a stent in his heart. It has caused him seizures. He is due to have that replaced imminently.
“He obviously is extremely sorry for what happened and how the matter came before the court, but cannot say more about the incident as he has lost his chance. You will note from his last order that he did successfully complete a curfew with no issues. That is how I would ask you to consider dealing with the matter.
“He is waiting for a house move. There are lots of things happening in the background. There have been a number of targeted incidents at his house, related to social media accusations. He has had his house smashed up a number of times and is working with his housing officer. There have been repeated window smashings, which are obviously an issue.”
Wearing a navy blue Moncler coat over a black t-shirt with a picture of a bird emblazoned across the front, Dempsey nodded and appeared to be counting on the fingers of his left hand as he was jailed for 16 weeks. He then gave a thumbs up to the court as he was led to the cells.
Sentencing, District Judge Paul Healey said: “I have to sentence you on the basis that you acted in the way alleged by the prosecution. I appreciate that you dispute that. There is a difficult background to this. The victim paid you to look after his dogs while he went on holiday. You were not licensed to carry out that matter.
“While he was away, unfortunately, one of the five dogs died. You have not been prosecuted for ill treatment or negligence in respect of that. There is no suggestion that you were directly responsible for the death of the dog.
“I can well understand that Mr Hulse and his family were upset. They came back from holiday at short notice. They attended at the address. There are comments about the scene and the condition of the dog, but I have to put that to one side. You then assaulted Mr Hulse. You headbutted him to face. You punched him on a number of occasions. You butted him to the face. That is treated as the use of a weapon equivalent.”
Dempsey’s wife, who had earlier been told off by the judge for repeatedly shaking her head as Ms Conlan outlined the prosecution’s case, then burst into tears in the public gallery as two dock officers entered the court and was heard to say “b***ard”. She was ordered to leave the courtroom after shouting: “It’s all based on f***ing lies.”
Continuing his sentencing remarks, Judge Healey said: “I have to have regard to your compliance with the community order. You are in breach of that order. The curfew was done, but you failed to engage in any meaningful way. There were missed appointments. You turned up late. The work with probation is a fundamental element of the community order, and you have not done that. It does have to be an immediate custodial sentence.”
