Creator of Popular “Disneyland for Dogs” Charged With Animal Cruelty After Pet Deaths

In 2017, Nicolas Grant St James opened the “Golden Retriever Experience” in Somerset, England — a seeming paradise where pet-lovers could spend $100 to spend an hour with 10+ Golden Retrievers on a farm, complete with refreshments and photo ops. The concept went viral, with influencers and local newscasters alike promoting the adorable pastime. But the self-proclaimed “Disneyland for Dogs” was a nightmare for the pets themselves, who were kept in inhumane conditions — and the owner now faces prison time, as well as a ten-year ban from keeping dogs.

The Somerset RSPCA and the police launched an investigation into the event in 2024. They found that the Golden Retriever Experience had breached license conditions and regulations and failed to properly look after animals, and their license was revoked, reported West Somerset Free Press.

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Recently released details reveal that the RSPCA found that animals were kept in overcrowded conditions — 20 dogs lived in one small kitchen on a concrete floor, and others were crammed into bedrooms. Some of the animals had calluses. A local veterinarian said that multiple dogs had been admitted for injuries the dogs had sustained while fighting over limited resources, which Grant St James admitted. Two of the dogs died from bite wounds, reported the BBC.

On June 19 of 2025, Grant St. James pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges. District Judge Angela Brereton found the dogs’ conditions “woefully inadequate,” reported ITV News. “There has been no remorse or victim empathy — you were focused on your financial loss rather than the welfare of your dogs,” she said.

The judge ruled that he failed to provide accommodation of sufficient size for his dogs, failed to keep the accommodations clean, failed to provide a place for the dogs to rest, failed to provide clean drinking water, failed to provide pest control, and failed to keep dogs safe from injury, reported ITV News.

Grant St. James was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended over one year, and ordered to pay a fine of £5,000. He is also forbidden from keeping dogs for ten years.

The dogs were removed by the RSPCA in 2024, and they have since been fostered or adopted. Many show signs of trauma, but they are healing in their new homes. “Molly was totally shut down when she came to us,” one adopter told the BBC. The dog was too nervous to move from room to room or get into her own bed at night. “A year on, she flops into her bed every night … She’s frightened of noises, of fast movement, or anything I’m carrying — but she’s a very loving dog.”