I am cute and cuddly, bred to please, My mum's in a cowshed down on her knees.
I love your cuddles and lots of affection, My mum just waits for any attention.
I am bright and breezy with lots of show, My mum makes her owners lots of dough.
I love my toys and soft new bed, My mum is shivering in a cold old shed.
I love to run and play in the park, My mum sits alone and waits in the dark.
I love your touch, so soft and gentle, My mum is so scared she is almost mental.
I have to go now... I don't feel too well, Something I picked up in my mothers hell.
By Gill.
4th July
Evie's Story.
Purchased from Linton's Pet Shop, Berkshire.
At the end June my partner and I visited a garden centre that had a pet shop. They were selling puppies in this pet store. We left the centre, but spent the next week thinking about one little pup we had seen. The following Saturday we went to see if she was still there. She was, we could cope with the puppy, and decided we would give her a home. She was an 11 week old Border Collie and we named her Evie.
We were told she came from a local private breeder and was one of 5. She had been given her 1st vaccinations and we had a vaccination certificate.
On Sunday I noticed she was a little lethargic and had some diarrhea. I put it down to the heat and the stress of moving. On Monday I took her to the vets just to check and to get her 2nd injection. She was admitted to the vets on Monday with an IV and antibiotics as the vet thought she was dehydrated and maybe getting over an infection. Sadly, on Wednesday she was diagnosed with Parvovirus and on Thursday our little pup passed away.
Puppy Love say again, please don't buy pups from pet shops and always, always see pup with its mother in surroundings it was born
24th May 2010.
Bailey's Story.
Breeder Carol Cavanagh and Adrian Bicknell of Smallfield Surrey Kennel Club affix, Shimano.
Bailey was purchased from a Kennel Club breeder who boasts of 20 years experience in the breed. Bailey's purchase price was £1500 so we are not talking backyard breeder. The buyer did her research well and asked all the right questions before going to view the puppy at 4 weeks old. On visiting the breeder she asked to see the grandfather and father of the puppy who are champions, Casanova Von Canyaya and Tanakajd Szepe Zamorrow. She was impressed with their looks and so asked to see the mother Wolfram Vampette with her puppies only to be told it was not possible as the bitch was very protective of pups so she viewed the mother first and then pups.
There was only one male puppy and one female, the buyer wanted a male but was concerned that is eyes didn't look quite right. She was told by the breeder that it was because he had just been woken up and had sleepy eyes, a sale was agreed and and arrangements made to collect pup when he was old enough to leave his mother.
On the day of collection the buyer was still concerned about Bailey's eyes but again was told it was because he was sleepy. Bailey was crated for his journey home but yelped a few times and cried, the new owner thought it was because he was afraid of the car. On arriving home Bailey slept for hours, so long that his owner again contacted breeder only to be told that they were a lazy breed of dog and it was not unusual to sleep for long periods.
On awakening Bailey screamed and did so each time he awakened from sleep. Concerned the owner took him to her vet who was also concerned about Bailey and asked if he could keep him for a few hours to run checks. On picking him up later his owner was told Bailey was virtually blind. Bailey was also given a course meds (steroids, pain killers and they wanted to treat Bailey with a drug for meningitis... the full course of drugs was given with next to no effect, so vet suggested he should be taken to see a Neurologist so Bailey was referred to Davies veterinary specialists in High Gobion, Hertfordshire. Bailey's owner was told that Baley more than likely had Hydrocephalus or Syringomyelia,but the specialist stated that if we were lucky he would live to be 6months old and would be smaller than he should be, he suggested some alternative drugs to try. There was a slight improvement in Bailey, but it was difficult to get any weight on him.
During this time Bailey's owner had contacted breeder and asked for her to take the Bailey back, she flaty refused so Bailey's owner continued to do the best she could for the little pup, he had all the care and love he needed but sadly aged just 13 weeks he became paralysed and could not use his back legs at all, also his front legs were buckling. The vet said this was caused by pressure from the fluid on Bailey's brain and that his little body would not tolerate a higher dose of drugs, so with heavy heart on vets advice Bailey's owner released him from his suffering and pain and ended his short life.
Before Bailey was put to sleep, the long process of trying to recover the money paid for him and his subsequent veterinary fees was started. The end result, that Carol Cavanagh stated she would only refund the initial purchase price of Bailey and, should we decide to take the matter to court, she would declare herself bankrupt. Owner had no choice but to accept the purchase price of £1500.
Puppy Love will say again, do not think just because someone boasts 20 years experience and winning prizes at shows that they are good breeders. Always, always check and double check before you buy.
16th May 2010. Molly's story, A Kennel Club Registered Puppy.
Bred By Karen Crowley Of Gravesend, Kent.
Wrttten by Tania Ledger.
We spent 3 months researching, taking heed of health issues surrounding this breed. We were completely ignorant, we had never heard of puppy farming. We were aware of the breed problems, mainly heart and eye.
We saw and advert for a tri-girl, she was advertised as an only puppy. I contacted the breeder and arranged to see her. Everything seemed perfect, the house was clean, the breeder informed us she only bred one litter a year. The Breeder isKennel Club Registered which at the time gave us reassurance as we believed they were well respected and part of the establishment.
The puppy for sale was one out of two in the litter and it didn't take us long to agree to buy her and paid the breeder a deposit. We called her Sweet Molly. The first sign of trouble was when molly was 3 months old, for no apparent reason she would yelp, on one occasion she screamed very loudly, We took her to the vets on numerous occasions, checking all sorts of things without result.
We were careful when walking as she never seemed to be able to walk very far without looking exhausted. Sometimes she would stop and refuse to walk. More often than not she would have to be carried home. Eventually the Vet decided she should have her back legs x rayed, he suspected she might have a problem with her hips, the results showed she had dysplasia in both hips and her knee was popping out, which is probably the reason for the yelping. (Luxating Patella) For a while she seemed to improve, all of a sudden she became much worse.
We had a sweet little dog who had severe problems with all four legs. Molly could not walk. We decided with the Vets approval to take her to a leading joint specialist. The news was bad, he said she had severe case of Syringomelia, it was inoperable and he didn't believe she would make her second birthday. Molly was given back to us, she was waggy tailed, bright and pleased to see us.
We were devastated when we received this information. We thought we had been so careful. I wrote to the Kennel Club, explaining everything, they basically sent a political fob off letter. So if a breeder is Kennel Club Registered it does not mean anything at all. We live with a ticking bomb, except we do not know when it is going to go off!!
Mollys Health Issues.
Elsie's Story
I had been looking to buy another Whippet as company for my 5 year old whippet, for some time, and couldn't believe my luck when I saw one being advertised in my local paper. We phoned the number immediately and arranged to go that afternoon and see her. She was brought out to us and the first thing we noticed was that she had a cough. My husband said that we were worried that the cough was kennel cough, but we were reassured by the man, who we thought at the time was Mr. Whelan. He said that these were the first whippets they had bred and didn't realise they were so sensitive to the cold, and that they had turned her heater up in her kennel, as the cough was due to the cold weather we had been having. We collected her the next day and the same man gave us a bottle of medicine for her to take for her cough. ( the bottle had no vet's label on to say who the medicine was for, or what dosage.)
The following day after we had visited our vet, my husband phoned back and spoke to the man who we still thought was Mr Whelan. We told him that the vet had questioned marked kennel cough. He told us we could have our money back if we took the dog back. There was never any question of us taking Elsie back as she was part of our family now. It wasn't until Elsie deteriorated and we were told that she had had pneumonia, that I phoned up again. This time I did speak to Whelan, who had been on holiday. He was very aggressive in his tone and wouldn't let me speak, he kept talking over me. I asked him for help towards the vets bill which was still ongoing. He told me he needed to think about it, but wasn't promising anything. I took advise from the dog lovers breeders association, and wrote Whelan a letter and sent it recorded delivery, I asked for him to pay the vets bill and compensation. The next day Whelan called me and was furious for sending him a recorded delivery letter, and also for not waiting for him to get back to me. It was the same as last time, him doing most of the talking and not listening to what I had to say. He thinks that because he offered me my money back right at the beginning and I didn't accept it, then everything was above board. He also said that the puppy had been RSPCA checked and also checked by his vet and was deemed fit. If that was the case, why was she taking medicine. The phone call ended abruptly when he hung up on me. I have now reported him to the RSPCA, who supposedly checked the puppy, the trading standards, consumer advise and the local paper who his advert appears in.
To date; Elsie has been to the vet 5 times, and has another appointment on Wednesday She has been admitted and hospitalised while they put her on a drip. She has had pneumonia. She has suspected kennel cough. She is so riddled with worms, she has been treated twice, the worms are coming out both ends, alive! She has had these for a month now, and still they keep coming. She is underweight. She has had diarrhoea and vomiting. Sticky runny eyes. As her first inoculations were such a long time ago, the whole course will have to start again. Elsie is nearly 14 weeks old now and as a pretty poor start to her life.
Susan.
The name of this breeder is Mr. P. Whelan, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, LU5 6JS. Please be aware! If you have bought a sick puppy from this seller please inform Trading Standards and South Bedforshire District Council. You may also be interested to know this kennel was featured on Rogue Traders
Puppy Love would like to say that we have been investigating dog breeders who sell to pet shops and through small ads for years, we have yet to find an ethical licensed breeding establishment where dogs get the care they need. No decent breeder would ever sell pups to a pet shop... do not believe otherwise. The puppy farmers are at the bottom of the chain of greed, the pet shops and dealers rob you and make the biggest profit from misery, shame on them ! Also a quick word about advertisers, radio stations and local press e.g. Yorkshire Post, Manchester Evening news make a hefty profit from misery too, they take the money to advertise for the pet shop then evade any questions about ethics, there is no limit to the amount of people who's conscience is eased by a few pounds.
Bella was a beautiful Yorkshire terrier, purchased from Dogs4us and registered with Dog Lovers Registration certificate. She was much loved by her owners who were heartbroken when at just seven months of age and after months of complication's Bella died from a massive seizure. Despite vets best efforts there was nothing they could do to save her. Bella was just a few days over Dogs4us 6 month guarantee so the store refused her owner's any recompense. Bella was bred in Carmarthenshire on an establishment licensed by Carmarthen Council and was featured channel fives expose. The breeder is E. Harries, Maesbryn Kennels in Pencader Carmarthen. As far as we know this breeder is still breeding so be aware! Puppy Love will say again, you cannot expect healthy pups to be bred in conditions shown in the expose.The bitches are over bred and weakened, the stud dogs are stressed. It doesn't take much intelligence to realise you could never find a happy socialised puppy bred in one of these god forsaken premises.
Jacka was purchased from DOGS4US pet shop in Bramley Leeds and registered with Dog Lovers Registration. In August 2008. Four months later, a few days before Christmas, Jacka was put to sleep. He had intra-hepatic shunts and possible extra-hepatic shunting vessel cranial to the renal cavity, a congenital condition present from birth. All Jacka's litter mates would have the same problem,have you purchased a sick westie from Dogs4us, if so let us know. Jacka was born on a farm in Carmarthenshire licensed by CCC, Jacka was bred by Mrs H B Morgan. LLwnfallen. Carmarthen council are are very lax in upholding license conditions or the animal welfare act and we found dogs in this establishment with matted coats, rotten teeth and eye infections,these conditions were confirmed by vets and we have all vet reports on the dogs we rescued from this farm. RSPCA were given statements and vet reports but decided not to prosecute.
Jacka belonged to Robert, 10 year old son of the family and was Robert's first ever puppy. Poor Jacka never stood a chance, however Dogs4us vet signed him as fit for sale. Is it time the veterinary profession started to refuse to sign pups as fit for sale if they cannot pick up on these kinds of illnesses ?
Dilly was bought from DOGS4US pet shop in Bramley Leeds,and registered with a Dog Lovers reg certificate. She was very sick and would not eat or drink. Dilly spent most of her first few weeks in the vets on drip and twice she was not expected to live. She had coccidosis,thankfully she did pull through but at an immense cost to her new owners. Dogs4us would not help with vets bills so Dilly's owners are taking Dogs4us to court. Dilly was also bred on a farm in Carmarthenshire her breeders name is Evans, Veindre Farm, Pencader. Since our investigation this breeder has closed down voluntarily.
Puppy Love had investigated this farm previously and found dogs so very stressed that they spun in circles endlessly. We asked Carmarthen council to revoke the puppy farmer's license in December 2008, but they refused to pay any heed to our concerns. If they had revoked license then Dilly would not have been for sale in the pet shop. This shows a total lack of concern by Carmarthen council for you the consumer. What gives them the right to license these establishments and then wash their hands or bury their heads in the sand when the complaints come back to them ? It is a scandal that all over Wales dogs are bred in this way and suffer because of local council total ineptitude. The Welsh Assembley talk about new legislation yet they cannot ensure the basic legislation is upheld today. The Animal Welfare Act and license conditions are breached on a daily basis. For the past 20 years campaigners have complained only to be patronized and told the situation is under control, we know this to be a huge lie as the channel five expose has just proven. Being responsible for animal welfare is a serious job and should not be taken lightly, especially when there are so many licensed dog breeding establishments in Carmarthenshire. The head of public protections Mr Philip Davies freely admits he has never set foot in a puppy farm or as he likes to call them breeding establishments, yet he continues to defend the puppy farmers and deny the cruelty.
Izzy was also purchased from Dogs4us and registered with DLRC who deny they register puppy farms. Izzy had deformed ribs,breathing problems because her nasal passages were not properly developed, an enlarged heart and other problems and remember this....Dogs4us vet signed her fit for sale as he did with all these dogs. Again Dogs4Us refused any help with vets bills,so again court action will be taken against them. Dogs4us did offer full refund for Izzy as though she was a faulty washing machine but her owner refused as she loves Izzy dearly. Again a dog bred in Wales to make quick money by a Miss M Jones,Pantgwynbach,Llanfyrnacn, Pembs. Izzy has recently been diagnosed with serious hip dysplasia which means more pain and suffering for this little dog.
Buster is a Basset and he too was purchased from Dogs4Us and registered with DLRC. His owner soon realised Buster was having trouble walking. He was lame and diagnosed with joint laxity. After a prolonged campaign his owner was refunded half of Buster's cost but money to help with vets bills was never forthcoming. Buster was also bred in Carmarthenshire......do you see a pattern developing here? The parent's of such pups probably live with constant pain yet they are still bred from. No vet examines the dogs to see if they are fit to breed and no animal welfare officers do more than a quick check once a year.
Amber, a Golden Retriever, was very ill soon after purchase from Dogs4Us and she was diagnosed with Parvo Virus which can be a killer and highly contagious.She spent days in the vets on drip and did manage to pull through. Her owner is pursuing court case to try and get compensation for vets bills. Amber was also bred in Carmarthen.
Nine years ago my mum presented me with a surprise Cavalier puppy as I was thinking of getting a companion for Charlie. Mum bought her from our local pet shop but I wasn't too perturbed as we had always gone there for pet supplies. I had the pup vetted and was told she had a significant heart murmur. I spoke to the pet shop owner who had bought the pups from a 3rd party and when I traced it back to its origins it was indeed from a welsh farm. I have since discovered it was a puppy farm. Of course I kept Emma because I didn't want her sent back where she would probably have been put down.
Emma was a nervous pup which is unusual for a cavalier. She had a good life with us, we are animal mad (since Emma we have only taken on rescue cats and rabbits) but her little life was marred and cut short by the health issues that we are in no doubt were inherited from callous interbreeding/over breeding of defective "puppy machines", how could anyone do this to sweet sweet trusting cavaliers?????
Emma had an inherent heart murmur from a pup, she developed inherited diabetes, she developed cataracts early in life and went blind. Apart from the heartbreak of seeing your beautiful friend develop these conditions, if you love her you try to put right what you can and this involves huge financial burdens too!
Emma was on heart tablets, she was injected every day by me with insulin to control the diabetes, I paid for her cataracts to be removed by a top eye veterinary opthamologist in London so she could see again.
Emma was not insured so I worked out that her treatments cost me somewhere in the region of £8,000. of course I don't begrudge a penny!
"HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGY IN THE WINDOW" - think, how much is it really going to cost you!!!
Emma died in my arms at the vets just before Christmas 2009, she had a massive seizure. I am so so sad and at the same time very angry, because of these evil puppy farmers untold sadness has been caused to my whole family.
The pet shop Emma came from was Aquapets, Tolworth Broadway, Surbiton, Surrey. The address in Wales was in town called Maesbryn.
Nine years ago there was not much publicity about the wicked practice of puppy farming, now there is!, So there is no excuse! Please please take heed from mine and the other stories, DO NOT buy these puppies, help the campaign, STOP IT NOW!
Sue Rawlinson
Duffy was bought from PUPPIES WORLD, Romford.
Duffy was featured in the Y Byd ar Bedwar programme on puppy farming in Wales which was screened on S4C in Dec 2008. Since the programme Puppies World has closed down but again we believe the owner Stacy Hayward is now selling pups from her home under a pet shop license from Crays Hill, Billericay, please be aware as she will still be buying in pups from the same puppy farms to sell on. If you live in that area you might like to complain to the council?
Duffy had many internal problems, her digestion has always been very poor meaning she doesn't get the nourishment she needs from her food. Also she has a heart murmur.Her owner has spent a lot of money to get her well and she still has ongoing problems.
Duffy was bred on a farm licensed to keep 89 dogs by Carmarthenshire Ccouncil. Carmarthen Council is very lax upholding license rules and he animal welfare act.
Duffy's owner was successful in taking Stacy Hayward owner of Puppies World to small claims court and the judge awarded in her favour, he ordered Stacy Hayward to pay back all veterinary fees to Duffy's owner.Well done that judge, these pet shop owners need to know they cannot continue to dupe unsuspecting buyers and get away with it. Together we can make a difference. If you would like to watch the Y Byd ar Bedwar documentary you can do so here
The pups below were all bought from THE RETREAT owned by a Tania Mcintosh.
Despite having a large file of complaints against this seller Ayelsbury Vale council took no action against her.....shame on them!
The Retreat has now closed but we are reliably informed Tania Mcintosh is still selling pups in the Dunstable area....please be aware.
Belle's Story...told in her owners words......
In April 2007 Belle was diagnosed with Idiopathic genetic epilepsy,the vet said that this form at her age was very rare and both her parents would have had to have had it, so they should have never have bred from them in the first place.
She was put on Epiphen but this drug had to be upped as she was still having mini fits so in the end she was on 45mg twice a day with the added potassium bromide once a day. In the end they think this is was killed her due to the young age that she started to have fits, her liver just gave out even though we had regular blood tests. The blood that they took from her 2 weeks before she died was so thick with fat that they couldn't even see through it and this was after 12hours of starving.
Poor Belle had HD in both hips, her right was worse than her left and the right hip socket was hardly there. She was on previcox and synaquin meds and was in the end down to 15min walking once a day due to her severe pain. The vet said she when she reached two years of age she would need surgery.
Then after xmas Belle was limping on her front legs and was on a different pain killer that didn't seem to work and so we went to see a specialist who gave her more xrays and a camera was put in to the shoulder joint to which he found a large amount of inflammation so put a capsule of meds in to the joint and gave us tramadol to give to Belle, which she hated!!! This didn't work.
Then in February.
Belle couldn't move and was sick and wouldn't eat her food, this wasn't like her at all as she loved her food. We took her to see Del (vet) and we knew that we wouldn't be bringing Belle back home as you could see in her eyes that she had given up. When Del put the cannula in her paw, Belle just gave her her paw as if to say I've had enough. She died in a peaceful way she was in our arms and licked us in the very last breath she took.
I would like people to know our story as we were sucked in big time as the retreat wasn't dirty or smelly it was clean and the pups we are bright and seemed happy, we were even told that mum wasn't there as these pups were found and had to be re homed, not that they were puppy farm pups bought in for resale.
Jackie.
This beautiful puppy was bought at Retreat by kind-hearted people who didn't know the background of their purchase.
Bailey came from a puppy farm and has many health problems.
Bailey will not see his first birthday, he will be in too much pain by then and will have to be put to sleep His owner and the family will be heartbroken to lose a much loved pet. They have spent countless pounds on vets bills and yet they must still suffer emotional pain when the time comes to say goodbye to their much loved companion.
His ailments are as follows....
Mylo another pup from The Retreat was a little luckier, he was very ill soon after purchase and it was found he had Gaurdia a parasitic infestation making him very poorly. His new owner has two more dogs and Mylo infected both, one older dog nearly lost her life. Numerous trips to vets and hundreds of pounds spent in vet fees plus heartache and worry.
Most pups bought over the internet, advertisements in newspapers and pet shops will have come from puppy farms... this is a fact.
Mylo can now look forward to a happy life we hope but his mother and father will still be locked in some dark, dirty hovel, frozen in winter and roasted in summer. They will have spent their lives in a cage producing litter after litter of sickly pups for you, the public to buy. They see no vet if they are ill and when their useful days are over they will be shot or clubbed to death.
Do you really want to keep these evil people in business? Please think twice before buying a puppy from a commercial outlet selling lots of different breeds. No matter how cute these puppies may look, think about the poor mothers who have borne these puppies and are continuing to suffer at the hands of the Puppy Farmers & Agents for financial gain only. Only you, the public, can help bring an end to this horrific trade.
The owners of these pups want you to read this and take heed, they want to spare you the pain they have suffered.
If you do buy a sick pup report it to your trading standards and local council immediately.
Please, if you are looking for a pup consider a rescue dog, there are hundreds in rescues all over the UK through no fault of their own. If you want a specific breed then try breed rescues or ask your local vet for the name of an ethical reputable breeder.