An unlicensed dog carer has been banned after charging customers while falsely “presenting himself as a legitimate operator".
Thomas Riley, 43, had spent three years running the dog day care service “Woofs and Beyond” without the proper licences, taking £1000s worth of payments from customers over that time.
He had not been operating from a business premises, but instead from his home on Danecroft, Little Lever, while taking payments from dog owners between April 2022 and August 2025.
Last week, he was brought before Wigan and Leigh Magistrates Court to be sentenced for his unlicensed activities.
A spokesperson for the courts and tribunal service confirmed that Riley was banned from keeping or owning dogs for five years.
He was also fined £1,346, ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work with 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and to pay £1,200 costs with a surcharge of £114.
Riley had confessed to running a dog day without a licence between April 25, 2022, and August 2025 at an earlier hearing at Bolton Magistrates Court last February.
He also admitted to dog boarding without a licence between the same dates.
At the February hearing Saskia Whalley, prosecuting for Bolton Council, said: “He presented himself to customers as a legitimate dog care operator.”
She added that a total of “thousands of pounds of customers’ money” was charged from various people to Riley for services he was not licenced to perform over that time.
But Ms Whalley told the magistrates how in reality Riley was completely unlicensed for the work he had been carrying out.
Riley was warned by council officers back in 2023 that he needed a licence for what he was doing and so, Ms Whalley said, he could not claim to be unaware.
Ms Whalley said that this showed Riley had been lying to customers about his status and that when interviewed he admitted to his offences.
Representing himself at the February hearing, Riley told the court that he had admitted “a spade is a spade” and that he accepted had in fact committed the offences he was accused of.
But he claimed that since then he had lost his dog carer business, which he said is now no longer operating, and lost his relationship.
After the sentencing, a spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “This was a shocking case involving multiple complainants regarding this business.
Bolton Council said it will always take 'robust action' over the welfare of animals.
A spokesman said: “This sentence, along with the five-year ban, reflects the severity of the offences.
"It sends a clear message that the failure to adhere to animal welfare law, which includes applying for and gaining a license to carry out dog boarding, will not be tolerated.
“Anyone leaving their beloved pet with a dog boarder should be confident that they will be looked after to the highest standard.
"In this instance, these owners were badly let down by this unlicensed business.
“We urge all pet owners to double check providers have all the relevant licenses in place.
"Home boarders of dogs and dog day care businesses undergo stringent checks on application to ensure their premises are suitable and they are visited throughout the length of the licence by Bolton Council animal inspectors, to ensure that the business is meeting all the conditions of the relevant licence."
A list of registered animal licence holders can be found on Bolton Council's website.
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