Puppy Farms and Back Street Dog Traders

The couple tend to keep all the puppies and dogs in crates though some are kept in a walk in cupboard with no light or fresh air. Dogs are moved between the house and a rented allotment depending on who needs to be mated or sold. The couple also have a large shed at the rear of their house which is the home to yet more dogs. These dogs get no daylight or social interaction with humans.

The couple breed dogs depending on what is most fashionable or popular at the time. The dogs are not wormed or vaccinated and do not receive medical attention if needed. The average puppy is sold for around £150. The puppies are sold by word of mouth or via internet adverts on popular websites. You would never know, from reading the adverts, the horrendous conditions the puppies were born into.

Occasionally the couple hand dogs over to a local rescue when they need to make room for new breed bitches (once with the threat that the dog would be shot if not taken). Other times they have thrown their dogs out onto the street. These street dogs are usually euthanised at the local pound.

The dogs rescued from this couple have been covered in excrement and injuries, full off worms and in desperate need of medication and love. One rescued lurcher puppy was close to death with lungworm and pneumonia. His litter mates, who remained with the couple, could subsequently not be sold and were relocated to the allotment where they remain.

The couple take no pride in producing healthy, well-cared for pups. A recent litter of Jack Russell Terriers were born with hernias and each needed an operation. The couple decided that drowning them would be the best thing to do as they weren't prepared to pay vets bills. Luckily, a dog lover took them, paid for their operations and rehomed them successfully.

The allotment where many of the dogs and puppies are kept is rented from the council. It has no fresh water and a serious rat problem thanks to the mess there. Complaints have been made to the RSPCA and environmental health, but nothing has been done.

It seems the couple have no plans to stop breeding and will carry on regardless of any laws, including tail docking which they do themselves.

Many of their puppies die.

When you buy a puppy from an internet advert, newspaper advert, pet shop or even via word of mouth, you risk giving your money to people like the couple above. The practice of puppy farming is much more common than you might think, and occurs in normal two up two down houses, not just in deepest darkest Wales or Ireland.

Puppy farmers will sell their dogs from different homes, from shops, or they will even bring the puppy to you. They will not let you see the squalid conditions in which the puppy was born and in which its mother remains. Papers are easily falsified. So it is vitally important that when looking for your puppy, you do so responsibly. Purchase with your head and not your heart. Better still, consider adopting one of the many wonderful dogs in rescue centres across the UK.

The information above was given to me by a rescue worker at Lurcher Link in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It has not been exaggerated. This is simply what goes on in a typical puppy farm.