A TWISTED pet shelter boss who had seven dead dogs and a cat in a freezer has been jailed.

Evil Zara Brown, 29, was given seven months behind bars for a sickening catalogue of cruelty against hounds in her care at the Ayrshire Ark shelter.

11 Brown has been jailed for seven months Credit: Tom Farmer - The Sun Glasgow

And one animal inspector said it would take a 'long time' to get over the horror scene at the former school as the Scottish SPCA released a harrowing image of a dog found in a freezer.

At Ayr Sheriff court this morning, Brown was also ordered to serve four months for keeping the defenceless pooches in horrific squalor. The sentences will run concurrently.

In addition, the shameless monster, of Patna, was hit with a lifetime ban from owning or working with animals.

Sheriff Mhairi MacTaggart warned that her defence of suffering anxiety and depression at the time of the crimes wasn't enough to keep her out of prison.

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11 Lifeless dog found on filthy floor at Ayrshire Ark

She said: "These offences are individually very serious.

"However the totality of them, in my view, amounts to offending of the utmost gravity."

She added: "Despite all that's been said on your behalf, I have come to the view that because of the gravity of these offences, only a custodial sentence is appropriate."

Brown showed no emotion as she was cuffed and led from the dock.

A crowd of campaigners who had fought to expose the horrific conditions at the Ayrshire Ark were in court to see her sent down.

One said: "She deserves everything she gets."

There was a heavy police presence in and around the court for Brown's appearance.

Members of the public were warned not to speak or cry out as sentence was passed after one distraught dog owner caused uproar at a previous hearing.

Anguished Janice Grant - whose bull terrier Bruce died at the Ark - charged at Brown in the dock last week as details emerged of how his body was found.

She was removed from the court by cops.

We told you earlier this week how Brown hid seven dead dogs and a cat in a freezer.

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A dog lover whose cherished pet was found dead at the home was dragged from court by cops after she stormed the dock gunning for cruel shelter boss Brown.

Distraught Janice, 44, made the desperate lunge to grab Brown as harrowing details of bull terrier Bruce’s fate emerged.

The pet sanctuary boss was branded a real-life Cruella de Vil after she was nailed for her sickening ill-treatment of homeless dogs.

Campaigners likened her to the 101 Dalmations villain as the catalogue of pain and suffering she inflicted at a squalid rescue shelter was laid bare.

Manipulative Brown carefully crafted her image as a devoted dog lover, with social media snaps showing her lavishing affection on defenceless pooches.

But a Scottish Sun on Sunday probe into appalling conditions at the Ayrshire Ark unmasked her as a fake — and led to her admitting a string of cruelty and neglect raps.

One crusader compared her to the puppy-hating film fiend and said: “Zara is a real-life Cruella de Vil.

“Just like the film character she has no compassion for animals and the way she treats them is just evil. She should be banned from ever keeping pets or running a rescue again.

“This vile woman has duped so many people and betrayed so many dogs she was supposed to be saving — she should hang her head in shame.”

We told you earlier this week how the owner of a dog who died at the scandal-hit pet shelter wants his missing body back.

Heartbroken Lisa Burgess, 29, claims her pleas to be told where beloved Ozzy’s remains are have been snubbed after the horror at the Ayrshire Ark.

Brown's canine victims

11 Bruce: Starving and had sores, feared dead

11 Kilo: Ear infection and underweight

11 Roxy: Chronic lameness and starving

11 Ace: Lost weight and had osteoarthritis

11 Chief: Underweight and had leg ulcers

11 Luna: Malnutrition, eye and ear problems

11 Primo: Starving, ears and feet inflamed

11 Clarkson: Emaciated and lost muscle mass

Commenting on the court case, Scottish SPCA Inspector Leanne McPake said, “I was horrified with what we saw in the school that night.

“As an inspector who deals with animal cruelty we expect to see horrible things, however this case was particularly harrowing and will stay with us for a long time.

“The conditions in which the dogs were forced to live were woefully inadequate.

“There was an overpowering stench as all the floors were covered in dog faeces and urine, and there was debris strewn in some of the rooms creating more hazardous and unacceptable conditions.

“On arrival we found nine dogs in various rooms tethered or caged, one dog was found dead and six others were discovered in a freezer.

11 A picture released from inside the facility

“The dogs that were still alive were clearly malnourished and had no access to food or water.

“The Animal Health and Welfare Scotland Act 2006 includes the need for a suitable environment to be provided for animals, and as can clearly be seen from the photos this wasn’t the case.

“We are delighted that she has been handed a lifetime ban and custodial sentence. We hope that this sentence will act as a deterrent to others.”

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