This is the shocking moment a woman was caught on a doorbell camera repeatedly abusing her dog and dragging him by the lead.
Lauren Leigh Barker could be seen screaming and swearing at little Rocco as she forced him through a door and physically pushing him around.
The poor pup was repeatedly kicked before she slammed the door – bellowing at him to ‘move’, after which he can be heard making pitiful noises.
Others show her dragging Rocco around on a lead, shouting at him and repeatedly slamming doors.
Baker, of Clevedon, North Somerset, was found to have failed to meet her two dogs’ need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease due to the infliction of physical violence, abusive and intimidatory behaviour for an incident in October 2023.
She was also found to have caused unnecessary suffering to Rocco through aggressive and intimidatory behaviour for an incident in September 2023.
The vet who viewed the footage said in their report: ‘In my opinion Rocco has been caused to suffer due to the person responsible for the welfare of this animal behaving in an aggressive, intimidating and physically abusive manner towards this dog.
‘Suffering will have been experienced by this animal via mechanisms of fear, distress and possibly pain for a period of at least several minutes, possibly longer.’
Lauren Leigh Barker could be seen screaming and swearing at little Rocco as she forced him through a door and physically pushing him around
The poor pup was repeatedly kicked before she slammed the door – bellowing at him to ‘move’, after which he can be heard making pitiful noises
She is shown dragging Rocco around on a lead, shouting at him and slamming doors
Baker, of Clevedon, North Somerset, was found to have failed to meet her two dogs’ need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease due to the infliction of physical violence, abusive and intimidatory behaviour
Baker, who had a second dog called Iddy, was disqualified from keeping animals, which she cannot appeal for two years, after being prosecuted by the RSPCA.
She was also sentenced to 12 weeks custody, suspended for 18 months, and 30 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) days and ordered to pay £500 costs when she was sentenced at North Somerset Magistrates Court on May 6.
Baker maintains she is not guilty and that Rocco was an aggressive dog so she was acting in self-defence and plans to appeal her conviction.
Behavioural assessments were carried out on Rocco while he was being cared for by a team at an RSPCA rescue centre.
He was found to behave favourably in a range of situations, including being tolerant of vets who were able to carry out checks without any issues or the need for additional restraint, making him suitable for rehoming.
RSPCA Inspector Kim Walters, who investigated for the charity, said: ‘We’re extremely grateful when people report animal welfare concerns to us and share any evidence they have that can help our investigations.’
