Play all audios:
A woman rescued an "extremely skinny" dog from a garden and has ended up with a criminal conviction for illegal possession of a fighting dog. Jamie Lee Jayes had taken it upon
herself to seize the animal from a front garden about a year ago Leicestershire Police went to her home in Draycott Close, Rothley, for an unrelated matter and saw the dog, Rose, who lived
at the property with Jayes and her children. The officers seized the dog and a specialist at a police station confirmed Rose was an illegal XL bully. Since Feburary 2024 it has been illegal
to own an XL bully without an excemption certificate. At Leicester Magistrates' Court on Thursday (January 30) Jayes pleaded guilty to possessing a fighting dog and ended up with a fine
and a £1,000 bill for the police's kennel costs. READ MORE: Law student kept driving after hitting pedestrian in Leicester collision Prosecutor Sukhy Basi told the court that during
her police interview Jayes had claimed she believed that Rose was a mastiff. Mr Basi said: "She said the dog is not aggressive in any way and she didn't walk the dog outside
because it was scared of noises." Rachel Diorio, representing Jayes, said that it was probably due to the fact that Rose had been forced to live in a garden for so long that the animal
refused to ever leave the house. She added: "The dog was rescued from someone who was not looking after the dog. This was the reason for not knowing the breed. She said the dog was
extremely skinny. "The dog is scared of the Hoover and scared of the wind. It refused to go outside. There's never been any aggression." She said Jayes, a mum-of-three,
suffered with health problems due to her spine, as well as anxiety and depression. The magistrates heard that the costs to Leicestershire Police of looking after Rose since the animal was
seized in early November last year, were £1,723. The magistrates ordered Jayes to pay £1,000 towards the fees, as well as a £120 fine.