$21,500 fine for woman who kept 79 dogs at her home in ‘unprecedented’ case

SINGAPORE – A woman who kept 79 dogs at her landed home – more than 26 times the limit of three dogs – was fined $21,500 in a case that the prosecution described as “unprecedented in scope and severity”.

On Nov 19, the court heard that the 78 poodles and one golden retriever were not licensed as at Oct 7, 2024, and that 71 of the canines had not been microchipped.

Julia Nicole Moss, 50, will have to spend one month, four weeks and 24 days behind bars if she fails to pay the fine.

The Singaporean had pleaded guilty to multiple charges for offences including having unlicensed dogs and unlawfully keeping more than three of such animals at her home.

Details about the property have been redacted from court documents.

National Parks Board (NParks) prosecutor Muhd Shafiuddin Ong said that on June 7, 2022, a law firm acting on a bank’s behalf told the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) about numerous dogs at Moss’ home.

The property was then undergoing repossession through the High Court Sheriff because of her husband’s mortgage default, the court heard.

NParks officers conducted their first inspection of the premises eight days later and found 65 unlicensed and non-microchipped dogs.

Court documents stated that in 2022 alone, AVS and NParks conducted four inspections and engagements with Moss.

During these engagements, AVS officers repeatedly told her that the dogs had to be microchipped.

However, Moss continually failed to adhere to AVS’ advice and, over a two-year period, the number of dogs went up to 79.

Throughout that period, she repeatedly informed NParks of her intention to relocate to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates with her family and the 79 dogs, citing her husband’s employment there as a reason.

Mr Ong told the court: “She consistently attributed her inaction, failure to relocate and non-compliance with regulatory requirements to the purported non-payment of funds to her husband.”

However, Moss had given no proof of such incoming funds to substantiate her claims, he added.

In July 2023, she was declared a bankrupt and is still undischarged.

By early 2024, NParks observed that she had made no real progress on what she was supposed to do with the dogs.

Left with no choice, it issued Moss with a directive dated May 29 that year for her to microchip all the dogs.

Despite being given 90 days to do so, she failed to adhere to the directive, citing the lack of funds coming to her husband, among other things.

On Sept 17, 2024, officers and veterinarians from the AVS conducted a house visit to microchip the dogs.

During this visit, the officers found that eight of the dogs were already microchipped.

The remaining 71 dogs were then microchipped and the total cost came up to $1,420. This amount remains unpaid.

The law firm later told NParks that it would be working with the High Court Sheriff to issue an eviction notice for the property.

As there was a likelihood that the dogs would be moved due to the eviction, NParks also issued Moss a notice on Oct 18, 2024.

The notice stated that if the dogs were to be relocated, she had to inform NParks of their new address.

This was to allow the authorities to monitor the dogs’ welfare situation while allowing time for Moss to sterilise and rehome them.

An eviction notice was eventually issued to her husband and the occupants of the property, asking them to leave by Oct 29, 2024.

The bank subsequently extended the eviction date several times on compassionate grounds, ultimately to Jan 25, 2025.

Between October 2024 and January 2025, NParks repeatedly engaged with Moss to find out where she and the dogs would be relocating.

She then indicated that she would be moving to another property in the Holland Village area.

But when NParks asked for more details, Moss said nothing was confirmed.

On Jan 25, 2025, NParks and the law firm went to her home. They found that Moss and her family had already left with all the dogs.

She had failed to notify the Director-General (DG) of Animal Health and Welfare before removing the dogs from the premises. She had also failed to disclose her new address to the DG.

An investigation officer handling her case tried to reach out to Moss and to get her new address, but she refused to share it with the officer.

On April 16, NParks discovered through public feedback that the family and the dogs had moved into a rental home in Sembawang.

Mr Ong said: “NParks continued to offer to assist the accused to rehome the dogs so that she could comply with the regulations. However, she refused to rehome (them despite the offer).”

On April 17, the landlord decided to terminate Moss’ tenancy due to outstanding rent.

The offender and her family then had to relocate at short notice.

She agreed to surrender 37 dogs that day to NParks, and they have since been rehomed.

Moss later told NParks that she would never agree to surrender the remaining dogs.

Due to her persistent lack of cooperation, NParks exercised its power in July and seized them.

Three of the dogs were later returned to Moss after she took out a valid licence for them.