A HOMELESS woman says she is heartbroken after the council took possession of her three dogs this week at a court hearing.

Susan Clanford, 53, had her dogs taken away in October last year while she was staying in a trailer at the back of High Street, Slough.

Slough Borough Council (SBC) removed the dogs under the Animal Welfare Act, Ms Clanford says, after she informed them that two had illnesses. This week the council took possession of the canines at a civil hearing in Reading but has pledged to rehome them. Ms Clanford says she plans to appeal the decision for which she has 21 days.

She said the dogs had been ‘her everything’ while suffering from mental health issues including depression, and feared they would now be put to sleep.

She said: “The dogs are everything to me.

“When I first became homeless in 2016 I was given temporary accommodation. The dogs were distressed being away from me so I chose the dogs over temporary accommodation.”

Cato, aged nine, has heart disease, while second dog, Milly, 10, had cancer. Meanwhile her third dog, Teyha, has had behavioural problems. Ms Clanford, who is currently in temporary accommodation in Langley High Street, doubted whether SBC could rehome them. She said she had wanted the hearing to be adjourned until she had time to find permanent accommodation, preferably council housing. But this week SBC said it could not put her on the housing list because she was not a priority. Ms Clanford says her life took a turn for the worse after she suffered serious injuries after falling off a bicycle in 2005 and required four operations.

An SBC spokeswoman said: “If we hadn’t stepped in we firmly believe that two of those dogs would be dead.” She said that Milly’s tumours had been removed and Cato’s health had also improved with medication. She added that Milly continued to receive intensive aftercare.

She said: “None of the dogs are down to be destroyed. We don’t do that unless the vets say it is absolutely necessary.”

The spokeswoman said that Teyha was undergoing retraining as part of the rehoming process.

She said SBC was continuing to work with Ms Clanford to find her private accommodation but the authority did not believe landlords would allow her to live with her pets. Ms Clanford acknowledges it may be too late to save Cato, but she would ideally like Milly and Teyha returned to her possession.