Sentence deferred on couple who caused dogs ‘significant pain and discomfort’
A COUPLE who caused two cockapoo dogs “significant pain and discomfort” by neglecting them over a six-month period have had their sentence deferred for reports.
Peter and Helen Doyle had previously admitted causing the dogs unnecessary suffering at their home address in Robertson Crescent in Lerwick between 8 May and 8 November 2025.
The dogs – named Poppy and Henry – had to be sedated so that the vets could remove the thick, matted and stained fur that had been left to grow on them.
Vets took one-and-a-half hours to fully remove 1.5kg of matted fur from Poppy at the Bixter vets, while Henry underwent a similar process in Inverness.
Peter Doyle, 58, and Helen Doyle, 43, admitted the charges by letter to Lerwick Sheriff Court earlier this month, but were ordered to appear at Lerwick Sheriff Court in person on Wednesday.
Photos of the condition of the two dogs were also shown to Sheriff Philip Mann.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the SSPCA were called to the address over a concern for the dogs’ welfare last November.
On arrival, an inspector found Poppy and Henry in a “truly appalling state,” he said.
Both required immediate vet attention, and Mackenzie said it was evident they had “obviously been neglected for many months”.
They had been living in a “terrible condition for a lengthy period of time”, he added.
Both dogs were covered in thick, matted fur, with Poppy’s left eye, her four legs and her sides and tail completely covered.
Only after her fur was removed – with Poppy sedated due to the stress – did vets discover overgrown nails underneath, and red, infected skin.
Her eye had also been a source of “significant irritation”, he said.
Henry was in a better condition, but “only marginally so”, the court heard.
Mackenzie called for Helen and Peter Doyle to be disqualified from owning any animals, for a significant period of time.
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Asked how long that could be, the fiscal said that this was “not a one-off aberration” – but instead a “continuing course of wilful neglect”.
He said he struggled to see what the Doyle’s would get from owning any animals if they had allowed their dogs to deteriorate into this state.
Sheriff Mann said this was “quite a serious offence” and added that he was not prepared to deal with it today.
He requested criminal justice social work reports on the pair, saying he wanted to know the background to their lives and how this had been allowed to happen.
The sheriff also requested that they seek out legal advice instead of representing themselves.
They will return for sentencing on 26 August.
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