A pet-sitter has hit back at a judicial protest by neighbours, accusing them of lying and harassing her.

On Friday, Michael and Sylvia Hudson claimed that their next-door neighbour, Lara Marie Bezzina, had taken up “pet sitting” as a business, subjecting them to incessant barking and unpleasant odours from her Sta Venera maisonette and keeping the animals in poor conditions.

Ms Bezzina in her reply on Monday said the dogs taken into her home were greatly loved and treated as part of the family.

As for the nasty odours and dirt alleged by the Hudson couple, she stressed that the animals were kept in “excellent conditions,” citing comments by the Animal Welfare Directorate whose official had inspected her premises.

In a certificate issued in December 2018, the directorate declared that, “All dogs were found to be in very good health condition and the roof and inside where the dogs are being kept was found very clean and no smell of bad odours whatsoever,” noting further that the animals were provided with “beds and adequate bedding” as well as a “brick kennel outside on the roof.”

Ms Bezzina said her neighbours’ allegation of animal cruelty was nothing but a “blatant lie,” part of the long ongoing “systematic harassment” aimed at seriously tarnishing her reputation.

As for their claim that she was operating without a licence, the pet-sitter countered that the law laid down no licence requirement for such services, ending her protest by formally holding the neighbours responsible for damages whilst reserving the right to take further legal action.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Carlos Bugeja signed the protest.