Jessica Valpied in happier times. The 24-year-old kennel owner was Crufts National Pet Sitter of 2005 but was yesterday fined £400 after she had tried to cover up the death of a dog in her care. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0468216)
A KENNEL owner tried to cover up the violent death of a dog in her care and told the owners it had run away. Border collie Arte was killed when two Staffordshire bull terrier cross-breeds got into its pen at 24/7 Petcare, owned by Jessica Valpied.
Two days later, she phoned owners the Van den Bossche family, who were on holiday, and told them Arte had escaped. Friends put up posters, made appeals on the radio and placed an advert in the Guernsey Press in an effort to find the animal.
Before burying the dog in a nearby field, Valpied, of La Vallette, Rue des Longs Camps, St Saviour’s, had told staff that the truth would be bad for business and that they were to tell no one of the incident. She contacted the GSPCA and asked her employees to pretend to look for Arte by calling his name.
The truth came to light when two of them, distressed by the incident, told their parents what had happened and they in turn informed the police.
In the Magistrate’s Court yesterday, Valpied, 24, pleaded guilty to stealing the carcass of a dog and was fined £400.
Article posted on 14th October, 2008 - 2.30pm
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60 Article Comments
I am not an animal lover but cannot believe this female could do this and have the audacity to tell her Staff to keep quiet, is she joking or what, she should be put out of business with immediate effect and a criminal record on top of that.
If that would have been my dog I would like to see her put her in a kennel with the two dogs. £400.00 is not a punishment for her dishonesty I will never use her services again.
How can anyone trust this character to look after their pet ever again? It’s not just that she lied to hide the truth (bad enough) but that the security of the pets’ accommodation must have been rubbish. I presume she’s no longer trading?
Oh come now Caroline; I admit it is a messy affair; however I wonder how many of us would do the same thing, albeit not exactly like that,
Yet once again I say that the only thing that is really guilty of is the fact that it was apparently easy for those pit bulls to get into the other cage.
Have the pit-bulls been now justly taken care of? Just remember if they got at another dog what would happen if a child had been in the area?
i think this young girl should never be allowed to work or have anything to do with animals again this was a farce £400 fine ,what a joke , i bet that poor dog suffered for a long time before dying ,why cant they put her in front of a load of pet lovers like most people are ,i myself and anyone that knows how this dog suffered should never use her to look after or use her pet grooming buisness 24/7 i hope the van den bossche family can forgive her but i hope not ,she should now be locked up like that poor dog for a very long time i might add
she is a sick women and should never be aloud to
look after animals again it is awfull a person in this position should be aloud to get away with a poxy £400 fine. I hope she never works with animals again
It’s all a bit wrong.
I have a pet dog and I’d be absolutely mortified if this ever happened to me. Her punishment does seem pretty light - but at the same time, isn’t the problem that no law really covers this sort of thing?
Animal cruelty laws are pretty lax anyway, and since she wasn’t actually responsible for physical harm, even to the dog, it’s difficult to see how she could have been punished any more harshly. People lie all the time, and unfortunately, it’s not always covered by law.
Totally agree Caroline. This woman does not deserve to have a business like this. I am a dog lover and would be devastated if something like this happened to me.
I’m in total agreement with Caroline. Valpied needs to grow up and take due responsibility for these actions. And she was being paid for the care of the animal. Disgusting!
It sounds wrong, but in all honesty what would you do in that situation?
exactly bob, well said, its all well and good sounding off about this girl but we`ve all lied at some point in our lives, and we`ve all made wrong choices before in our lives with varying levels of severity, i guess she`s learnt from this experience, she`s only a young girl, so i for one would use her services again, yes what happened was awful and my heart goes out to the family involved but for everyone to gang up on her like this seems a bit harsh!!!
Eric…pit-bulls? Where did you get that from? Staffordshire bull terriers were bred as fighting dogs but had to be great with families. So just because these dogs got into a fight with another dog doesn’t mean that they’ll suddenly start attacking children.
As for the situation I personally won’t use her again. Going to make it busier for the other kennels though!
This is absolutely shocking and disgusting, Is she not someone who is supposed to love animals and want to care for them?! Isn’t that the reason she set up the business in the first place? I am truly horrified that someone who is caring for your beloved pet could brush their death under the carpet and easily live with the guilt of their horiffic death whilst in their care. This girl should never be trusted again. My heart goes out to the poor family involved. I will definately never use her service and warn anyone against doing so.
Good to see Bob and Brodie offer some understanding of why this young womnan did what she did.
A heat of the moment panic has ruined her career. It was silly and wrong but to label her as evil is just too much.
I note no one, other than Brodie has responded to Bob’s quaetion “It sounds wrong, but in all honesty what would you do in that situation?”
In all honesty, in that situation i know i would be heart broken for the family and wracked with guilt and panic, but i know that i could never ever pretend to a family that their pet had simply run away. I just couldn’t sleep at night. This situation would not be so bad if she had actually owned up to it herself, instead of members of her staff having to keep her sick lie a secret for her. I respect them for eventually seeing it only fair that the family should know the true fate of Arte.
I have a dog and would be devesatted if it happened to him, thinking of how that poor dog must have been terrified and in so much pain, breaks my heart. I used 24/7 for dog grooming once but didn’t use them again as I was asked to sign a dis-claimer regarding any injury or loss of my pet. That worried me so much - why would a pet care company not be willing to take full responibility for my pets care? so I never used them again.
Stephen John your right there and the same with Bob and Brodie, people should put themselves in the girls situation and think what they would have done. Yes it was wrong thing to do but to get all ‘angry mob’ on her isn’t the best thing to do, leave it to the authorities to sort out which they have. As to locking her up…. come on get real, there are far worse people out there that get away with much worse!
I’m sure she has learned a lot from this expirence and hope she does carry on with the company.
This woman should be banned from looking after any animal. 24/7 should be 24 hours, 7 days a week care. This poor young dog can not stop thinking what it must of gone through. Dont feel sorry for her she is responsable for taking on so much work.
Thoses poor children have been put through hell sleepless nights tears for the lost of thier pet.
Bob & Brodie hope this does not happen to your pets?
This is a very sad story for the family who owned the dog and most of all they trusted Valpied to look after their pet, paid good money I expect as well, Kennels are not cheap by far, and for this to happen she should be struck off owning a business because it shows she cannot look after animals. I am very disgusted that she was fined only £400, shame on you Valpied I hope you lose alot of business from now on because of this, you have only yourself to blame.
I hope you have written a letter of apology to these people who lost their pet, not that it would make up for what you have done…SHAME ON YOU.
I agree with you Mandy, she should not be allowed to look after animals and should be struck off.
This poor puppy was a pedigree and cost a lot more than the £400 fine. Altough money should not come into this.
And the first time in a kennel how sad is this. If it were my dog I would not rest until she has been struck off and would persue evrey avenue to achieve this. Ann
I have never taken part in any of these debates before but feel compelled to this time. I too am an animal lover but just cant help feeling this is a case of typical Guernsey jumping on anything mentality to prove how law abiding and perfect all of the rest of us are. I am sure the young lady in question has given much thought to her situation, in fact I doubt for months she has thought of anything else. If I were her would be thinking about leaving the Island straight away as it would appear no one is likely to give a young girl a second chance. I would imagine her business wont be going for much longer and that’s sad for someone who obviously does have a honest and natural care and interest in animals to have set up a business of this type in the first place. I doubt anywhere in her 5 year plan this was listed as things to achieve.
I am disappointed that more has not been made of the fact two dogs did this and that now they most likely have a taste for blood, obviously I may be wrong about this but if they have killed in a pack environment once what’s to say they wouldn’t do it again?. If it were a child attacked then they would be destroyed instantly and quite rightly, the point missed by all these animal lovers is that these two dogs killed another living animal not the girl in question. She did not intend for this to happen. I am not condoning any of what’s happened but I am just disappointed to hear how vicious and unforgiving people seem to be in Guernsey. This girls life is in pieces and I doubt she will ever get over this. Isn’t that punishment enough for everyone? The fact we are all commenting and judging her behind her back is a sorry state!. As for the family seeking more compensation, is this about money or the love of your dog? What is getting more money from this girl going to achieve, the outcome will still be the same.
As for Bob and Brodie ? it diddent happen to your dog did it,
Ok to forgive someone for an accident but this is rediculas, plain incompitance…
You tell the truth - and suffer the consequences -the basis for everything really.
Thank you Ann..let’s hope people take note of these comments..Valpied should be made to suffer herself for what she has done..
Its all very well blaming her but what about the other dogs that did the attack?You can not blame her for the attack blame the owners of the ATTACKING dogs for having dangerous animals they should be destroyed before someones kid gets bitten or worse.BEFORE YOU ALL START I KNOW IT WAS WRONG TO LIE BUT LOOK AT WHAT HAS HAPPENED NOW NEVER MIND THEN POOR GIRL
I personally find it hard to believe that the dogs not only managed to escape from their pen, but also managed to open another pen to get at the dog they killed.
The one time that I used 24/7 I saw 5 or 6 dogs all in a fenced in area together, and in another area there were 3 dogs. There wasn’t a single member of staff there to supervise them to ensure that if a fight broke out it could be stopped. As far as I could tell, despite walking around the premises and knocking on the door, there were no staff members present at all.
For that reason I decided to not use them again.
conrad maybe you need spellchecker its didnt for starters not diddnet, but anyways i never said it did happen to my dog and yes id be distraught, but attacking this poor woman isnt going to bring the dog back and your so right Lorna people in guernsey seem to be very vicious and unforgiving and so true that taking her to court again will not bring the dog back to the family. but just maybe all these people commenting negative things are perfect!
I think it is absolutely appaling what happened to that poor dog and how it must have suffered. I’m sure though that the lady in question though feels absolutely terrible about what has happened and acted out of sheer panic. I think it will be punishment enough for her living on this small island where people will recognise her out and not use her business anymore.
A dog lovers first interest would be to protect the other animals by ensuring that another of these maulings does not happen again. The lie that followed the death is secondary in importance and irrelevant in comparison.
Is it possible then that due to lack of space or overcrowding the dog’s were infact all in together ?
I have read through everyone’s comments, and quite rightly can see this has affected a lot of people to cause such and outspoken response by so many. I knew Jess for a short time while I was still in Guernsey, she used to come to my house once a month to bath my dogs. I can state that she loved my dogs and treated them very well.
As am animal lover I really do feel for the family who lost thier pet in this horrific accident, I would be devastated if it had been one of my dogs. I never saw Jess’s kennel’s because I left the Island before she got that part of her business up and running but I can say that if my dogs had not had thier own kennel and secure enclosed area, I would not have used 24/7’s services.
I’m sure that Jess is very regretful about what has happened, I know that won’t change what has happened, but having known Jess and seeing how good she was with my dogs I know she is not a monster. If she still manages to keep her business I would hope that she would make provisions so that this kind of thing never happens again.
Hey!!!! don’t knock the family just because they are professionals as stated in the paper trying to get jusice for what happend to thier very much loved and wanted pet. So all you people out there who feels sorry for this woman Valpied take this on board! Was she not a professional providing a professional service? Being paid a professional amount to look after animals?
Trusted to care for our pets like we care for them. I went for a look at the kennel a few weeks before this happend, and saw groups of dogs not related all toghether for that reasion I did not use her, there was only one young girl on duty.
Well done Ann, after visiting the kennels and seeing that all dogs were together, not very professional is it, that is why she should be struck off I think..makes you wonder if those other dogs that killed this much luved pet were actually in fact in the same pen for what ever reason..we will never know the truth..and only one young girl on duty mmmmmmh beggers belief really..
I think the main concern overall should be that the public be told the truth that the two dogs that savaged the poor defenseless dog have been or have not been put down.
I agree what is done is done and lessons should be learnt from this but if these dogs have not been put down, then they must be, before they strike again whether it be a child or another animal!
here here carmel well said nobody seems bothered about the other dogs
I am deeply concerned about all of this as you will see from my comments above, I agree with Carmel the main concern now is that the public should be made aware about the two dogs that savaged that poor defenseless dog (Arte), if they have been put down, before they attack again. As you say next time it could be a child..
Surely Valpied knew or had an idea that these dogs were vicious, to have kept them well locked away from other dogs..they broke out and broke into another pen how safe were the locks then?? perhaps there are no locks on the pens..Are there no visits to these kennels to make sure they are up to standards.
We all lie one point in our life, eg when your late for work what do you say to your boss. So some people get found out and some do not. That life! I feel very sorry for Jessica, she is a young person. Just think all the good she has done for this island. She has done ONE thing wrong.
Best friends about a year or so, took a pill bull terrier to the children park and a poor man got his leg ATTACK what happened about that?
The dog is dead and there is nothing, no one can do.
There is better thing to think about, like what happening to the Banks and our jobs.
The fate of the two attacking dogs IS important. Can we be sure that our dogs and small children are safe when we are out walking? Sorry, but these dogs are dangerous and should be put down.
i have just got back from my hoildays and have just read all the hype and comments about this women and two things keep coming up and i would just like to comment on them the first thing is many of you have put the words PITBULLS AND Staffordshire bull terriers. which is was neither off these breeds but a CROSS BREED STAFFY. so stop blameing breeds of dogs that nothing to do with this matter as i have kept staffys for years and they are soft family dogs and yes i have grandchilren who have played with her since they were old enough to walk. the second thing is yes she did wrong and got a very small fine and nothing else but her life in pet care is finished and i would say her home life is not much better with all that has happened. the one thing i do like to see as you always do see when something like this happens in Guernsey is all the God fearing and totaly honest people who live just perfect lives jumping on the band wagon to slauter someone who has done wrong. yes what she has done has upset one family in Guernsey but come on i think this has a bit of the old we have money so lets make her life hell for the rest of her life. just think if we did that to the Gremans after the war but no we have put it behind us so lets do the same here. it is ok there will be some other poor person you can slauter coming alone soon.
well poor old jessica she new exactly what she was doing when she buried the poor dog she is nothing but a deceitfull liar who should be struck off .and as for all the people who think that the dogs owner should give her a break what would you do if it was your pet .i think he should do what he can to get justice unlike guernsey who thought £400 was ok but what do we expect its only an animal, peaodophilles dont get a lot more!!
also a lot of owners like to say goodbye to there pets for them to be able to grieve for them but these poor people can’t thanks to this supposed animal lover thats a laugh
i have also kept staffies as family pets and to be honest with you i would trust them more than dalmations and retreivers etc any dog will fight if thats the way they are i have seen some tiny jack russels go for it so give these poor terriors a break whats to say that it wasnt the collie who started at the end of the day jessica is in the wrong you should always have proper kennels and if her business is so succesful then they should have been checked that other dogs couldnt get in as a lot of dogs cage guard i think she should be struck off before it happens again as from my experience with her kennels she only has young kids working there who to them it is just a waY OFF EARNING MONEY
Simply this could go on and on…I hope she gets what she deserves and that’s to be struck off..
Is Miss Valpied ever going to respond to the many comments made about this situation, reading all the letters surely some kind of statement would not go amiss. Heads cannot be buried in sand forever.
Nor buried in fields
Caroline, do you really think she will respond??
She probly does not even have a PC ha..
She will bury her head in the sand because another day will come and another and everyone will forget..well that’s what she thinks!!
I have lost all faith in people here in Guernsey! Mandy your comments are incredibly childish regarding Miss Valpied having a PC and I hope that none of the people baiting for blood ever make a mistake in their lives and find themselves the brunt of nasty or vicious comments. Why is everyone so intent on ruining this girls life even further. Do you not think her life in Guernsey is pretty much over already? I totally agree with the comments made about this now being a case more about the fact two dogs attacked another.
Apparently that point has been missed. I doubt Miss Valpied set out for this to happen or let the dogs out intentionally. Please some of you remember that.
100 per cent agree with you lorna, im shocked by people in guernsey it never used to be so vicious and uncaring.
many of you have commented on the fact that many people lie…and we all do…and i guess you are right. however there are different degrees of lies. making an excuse for being late for work is entirely different to a web of lies designed to protect yourself whilst causing a lot of hurt and upset to others.
not to mention the fact that due to her actions (should she have succeeded) there could be two dangerous dogs - regardless of breed - in guernsey, whose owners may not be aware of their capabilities for this behaviour.
i am constantly shocked by the law in guernsey and the lack of consequence given to some people’s actions, but that doesnt make it right.
the disappointing thing is that i know of many disappointed and angry customers of hers where the animals havent been looked after correctly. i hope they will come forward.
i hope that animal lovers act with their ‘feet’ and stay away from her business.
my dog is such a big part of my life and losing her would be unbearable, but to discover that the person responsible for her care had lied and spun out more lies over a couple of weeks would be intolerable.
Lost all faith in Guernsey - well I never- I don’t even live there used to but saw sense and got the boat out in the morning as they say Lorna.
I just think it is increadible that this young girl has not made a statement as to what has happened with the two other dogs yet.. Yes and with all the comments that people have made other than myself her life is truly over in Guernsey, well for running kennels anyway.
Well done Ali, I rest my case…let’s hope they all come forward and put this girl right out of business.
Seriously people! save your stones for the real criminals out there please!
Sure she lied but it was a mistake, we all make mistakes. If this is the biggest mistake that she ever makes then she is better than most of us.
There are a lot of sensible people in Guernsey who can see that everyone makes mistakes and as long as she shows that her business has been developed to ensure that any of the dogs cant escape from their pens again then thats fair.
I really cant believe some of the narrow minded insular comments here - “her life is truly over in Guernsey” from Mandy. Maybe some of the comments here are from rival kennels? that would at least make sense.
She is a good kid who has worked hard all her life, she has proved over and over again that she is dedicated and loves animals. An accident happened. I bet most of the kennels here could not ensure at present that a dog could not escape and maul another dog. Let this be a lesson for all in the business. The most important thing to do is learn from this terrible accident and work together to make all kennels safer for our dogs.
I dont know her at all but if she changed her kennel to ensure that this accident could not happen again then i would leave my dog there anyday!
The focus should be on dog safety. Put your pitchforks away simpletons.
all valpeid thought about was what was best for her,scheming liar that poor dog ,i feel so sorry for the family how could she lie to them.Hope shes struck off as an animal lover it still upsets me to think about it.
I think Jessica should be struck off.
Also I belive the dogs that attacked the puppy should be put down.
Do we all remember the dog that got put down for killing the cat.I knew the owner of that dog, and yes he was very soft but because some idiot teased him into chasing the cat he was put to sleep. Well in this case I think it is worst. There was no coaxing for these dogs to attack this puppy.Which to me these dogs are deadly and they proved that.I feel great sadness for the famliy of the dog that had to lose his life in such a terrible way.
Jessica had no thought what so ever for this famliy she continued to lie to them , even while they were putting up posters for there so called lost dog.
A responsible dog keeper would never of allowed
dogs to be left together unattended.
Also Jessica had put the pressure on these youngster’s of threatening them they would lose there job.
I hope Jessica is struck off .
This story has caused a lot of anger and concern among the population of Guernsey.Instead of wasting time trying to destroy Ms Valpied lets do something about it. Why don’t a group of like minded people look into forming a committee and set up an organisation that will monitor and regularly check the standards of care provided by the many pet care companies in this Island. Companies that wish to join and be certified could then pay a fee to join.Certificates could be issued and a list of approved pet sitting firms/kennel/cattery/livery stables could be published this will give the population of Guernsey peace mind. They will know that if they pick an approved establishment high levels of pet/animal care are provided by trained competent staff.This would be checked by regular ad hoc visits by the organisation’s inspectors.
well sharon i understand where you are coming from but this is gsy and that would never happen jessica should be made an example off if there is away getting her struck off that should happen then maybe other dog carers will up there level off care so this never happens again .
and in response to put those 2 dogs down no dog can be a 100% trusted they are an animal so if we put ever dog down that was aggresive to other dogs they would be come an indangered species .and before any body says what about attacking achild that is totally different and i would be the first to destroy a dog but lets not forget jessica was told that these dogs dont get on with others so keep them awy from others !!!!but i suppose greed got the better with it being summer holidays and very busy
This thread is becoming more heated as it goes on.
Basics of it are ,poorly run kennals run by an adult,administered day to day care by children, ive seen 24/7 petcare vans being driven by drivers “fag in mouth” and dogs looking totaly breathless in the rear, Iv’e seen and read all about the dog body napping. lets not forget the only reason she was prosecuted on that charge was its the Only law available.
1. Why was there no charge for allowing dogs access to kill the border collie.
2. She Made her staff Lie to people (opening themselves to prosecution)
3.And the Guilt for the staff Jessica has inflicted on them.
4.on a more Flippent note even the parralel road to the kennals has a sign saying “Dog Poo Ally”
And whats all this, regulate regulate ..administer charges and fee’s all about.who pays for this .. US .. as all the extra expense will be forwarded to joe public.
Struck off is the anwser in my opinion,It will set a clear message to all cowboy operations.
A dog dies in her care, she had no exoerience in crisis management, she did something very stupid, she’s suffering both personally and professionally. get over it, if you don’t like it, don’t use her services.
Do you think that the MD and Risk Officer at Landsbanki is feeling the same sort of remorse?
She’s only a kid, just learning, maybe if Guernsey was serious about animal welfare there would be some sort of licencing system for carers. There isn’t so you takes yer chances.
If she gets struck off from an authority or whatever, then so be it.
Lyndon Trott threatened violence and was abusive in his role as Chief Minister. But that’s human apparently. Let’s get stuff into persepctive.
She did not act of panic,too much planned scheming.As a supposed animal lover she should have come clean.Were her thoughts for the family.No i dont think so
Thank god for the rule of law. This self righteous, hate filled mob mentality would have the poor girl, hung, drawn and quartered.
I genuinely think some of you are quite unhinged.
How did it get to court with such a charge . I’m sure it would t stand up any where else.The legal system stinks.