Aardvark Kennels, a nine month old puppy, still waiting!

How long is too long for a puppy to be waiting to be purchased in a pet shop?  I was shocked to find on my visit to East London pet shops that puppies were still waiting to be sold at 16 weeks and 26 weeks but now to told one is waiting to be sold at 9 months beggar's belief.  This is outrageous, what are the Council licensing officers thinking of when they licence pet shops?  They should  take into consideration that puppies may not be sold within the first few weeks of arrival in the pet shop and some like this puppy may still be waiting for someone to pay the hefty price tag of £1,200.  'This one is cheap' I was told by the shop owner 'the others went for £1,700'. 

Councils can place extra conditions on pet shop licenses if they are expedient to the purpose of the Act - so why are they not doing so I have to ask?

Who has sold this puppy to a pet shop and left it and its litter mates to the fate of the unknown?  Who did not care what happened to their puppy other than someone was willing to pay the price to take it off their hands?  Not a breeder from Wales or Ireland this time but a dog breeder who was prepared to register the litter with the Kennel Club, supply the registration documents and pedigree to the pet shop, an act which contravenes the Kennel Club code of ethics.  A breeder that registers a litter of puppies with the Kennel Club agrees not to sell puppies to a dealer or wholesaler.  This breeder has sold not only this litter to the pet shop but a previous litter too, was the information given to me by the pet shop owner.

To make matter worse this poor puppy soon after arrival to the pet shop was treated by a vet, given an antibiotic due to an eye discharging and diagnosed with an abscess.  This I was advised had now cleared up but the puppy is left with a cloudy eye and limited sight in one eye. What else is going on here, oh yes, the puppy is in season in the pet shop or out the back where ever this pet shop owner keeps his older puppies.  'Too young to be bred from yet'  I was advised by the pet shop owner 'but will be a lovely dog to breed from in the future'  In fact the pet shop owner thought he would do just that, then for some reason that he did not enlighten me, changed his mind - maybe the the selling price of £1,200 seemed a more attractive immediate option than keeping this puppy any longer and breeding from her later or was it her eye condition  or due to her pedigree breed she may require a cesarean to give birth and costs were a factor.

My understanding from the information obtained from the pet shop that the breeder of this English Bulldog has the KC affix of Briaroak, the dam is Valglo Sixpence and the Sire Stowgate Santa Claus at Briaroak, a little research in the KC breed supplements has revealed the breeders of this puppy as Mr E J & Mrs D Liveley. 

This puppy is publicly advertised not only in the pet shop but on the Internet too even announcing that the puppy is in season.  Does this contravene this persons pet shop licence to advertise a puppy for sale in season?  I would have thought so but we will wait and see.      

My Visit to East London Pet Shops

My Visit to Three East London Pet Shops

A visit to three East London pet shops left me feeling distraught. Although it is not illegal for anyone in possession of a pet shop licence granted by their Council to sell puppies, it is not in the puppies best interest to be sold in this manner and it should be made illegal to do so. Especially when a puppy is still waiting to be sold at 26 weeks of age!! More about this later

The pet shops I visited were quite different in their presentation to the public but the techniques used by each shop to sell puppies were all the same. Be wary of your customers and give the least amount of information as possible and only answer as brief as possible any questions asked.

Firstly I stopped by London Prestige Puppies (previously called Simon's Pet and East London Puppies until they were closed by Newham Council). The pet shop is in new ownership and was well presented, clean both exterior and interior, the front of the shop displayed a good range of aquatics, pet food and accessories with rear of the shop accommodating the puppies. Their licence allows up to 50 puppies at any one time to be held on the premises. The young puppies were in wire cages well off the ground and away from public interference, they were housed on white shredded paper, recently replaced and fresh water given. But there were no toys visible for play and stimulation even for the older puppies, which was even more unsatisfactory.

One of the older puppies was 26 weeks (6 months) the others 13 to 16 weeks, were kept in an area to the rear of the premises as they were now too large to be kept in wire cages. Instead are kept in tiled cubicles, wood shavings on the floor and given a bowl of water but without anything to occupy them in play such as toys or even a bed to sleep in. What distressed me most was to think that the eldest puppy (6 months) lacked anything for stimulation such as toys to play with, just bare walls he could not even see the puppies in the next pen. Other than a person popping in to clean the pens and at feeding times it appeared human contact was limited. There was no excuse for the owners not giving the puppies toys as the shop stocked toys to sell.

Puppies of any age should never be alllowed to be sold from pet shops. There is only a very short window in a puppies life of between 6 and 14 weeks  which is the early learning period, any experience both good and bad may have a lasting effect, but a bad experience may have a detrimental effect on the puppy for the rest of its life . This can also result in behaviour problems due to its social and physiological needs not being met, by being denied early socialization as the puppy would have no or limited experience of people handling, household noises, children or of the big outside world such as traffic and would not be house trained, etc.

Pet shops should be aware of the requirements of puppies if they are in the business of selling them to the public to go into pet homes. Even tough the premises were clean to the point of being clinical in respect of the puppies but it is inadequate to have good presentation if the puppies, social and physiological needs are not being met too,  ensuring that the puppies are suitably prepared to be family pets.

There was no information on display to identify the name of the pedigree or cross breeds of puppies for sale, no details of the breeders or the selling price. Any one interested in purchasing a puppy would have to ask for information, which admittedly was given when asked but was no more than what was listed on their adverts on the Internet,  nineteen ads for 16 different breeds of puppies. This consisted of a basic parvo vaccine, worming, health check (listening to the puppies heart) a pedigree and four weeks pet insurance.

To the purchaser (a purchaser would need to be quite naïve to not be aware of the possible pitfalls of purchasing a puppy from a pet shop). But they could be persuaded by presentation, a cute puppy sitting in a cage or pen may give the impression that they could not go wrong in paying the asking price and walking away with a puppy in their arms, assured by the seller that their puppy was a well bred, healthy puppy. But are they right to think like this? No of course not the parents of the puppy would not have been screened for known hereditary conditions in the individual pedigree breed under the Kennel Club, BVA schemes. The puppy may look well but what the purchaser will not know is how that puppy was bred or the conditions of the premises or the health status of the parents, what hereditary disease the parents were carrying and passing onto the puppy.

Puppies sold from a pet shop (or any pet shop licence holder) usually come direct from commercial breeders/puppy farmers in West Wales or Ireland or are sold to the pet shop through a dealer who has sourced the puppies from either of these locations where battery dog farming flourishes. The seller may mention a location in England for their breeder as they did to me but that is just to distract from the truth they should have said our dealer who sources puppies from elsewhere.

My next stop was Aardvark Kennels, the name gives the impression they are a kennels but in the High Street South, East Ham I think not. A shop front with photos of various puppies displayed on the windows in a very sloppy fashion, the door was locked and had to ring the bell to get someone to open up. The premises were somewhat unkempt and it was difficult to know when entering through the front door whether they were open for business or if the front of the shop was for storing and the rear was where they made the money on puppies. A room at the rear was where the puppies were in tiled pens, wood shavings on the floor and water, the puppies were lively and appeared happy, as far as the eye could tell and of course without handling. The men who were working seemed a little impatient maybe they could see through me and knew I was just browsing at the many puppies offered for sale.

One man ran through the various breeds on sale and their ages and said 'the puppies were bred in West Wales' I guess he meant all of them, then stating that 'the best breeders are in West Wales' but did not add 'commercial breeders and puppy farmers who supply pet shops like ours'' which was what I was thinking but I kept my mouth firmly closed and bit my tongue once more. I asked 'were the puppies registered'? he replied 'no they are for pet homes not for showing'. I could hear puppies yapping out the back and commented on this he said 'oh that is where they have a run for exercise' but I did not go outside and was not invited to so cannot confirm if they were having exercise or not at the time. But I have since been informed that older unsold puppies/dogs are kept out the back and advertised for sale on Gumtree.

My next target was Anipals 33 High Road, Chadwell Heath. A shop situated on a very busy main road with shops along either side of the road. This was possibly the most relaxed of the three shops I visited with the staff chatting to customers and people coming and going to view the puppies, but thankfully I did not see one purchased. The puppies were all in tiled pens at ground level with wood shavings on the floor and water given, the younger puppies were under heat lamps but all puppies had toys, at last someone cared with the  knowledge to know the importance of stimulation and human contact.  I thought also by allowing customers to view and speak to the puppies in close contact without handling or touching was better. The puppies were asleep on my arrival which was disconcerting but this was due to the warmth of the shop but some did wake before leaving and were active.  But I did not like to see three older rottweilers left unsold at 15 weeks of age, this is not acceptable. Rottweilers are a guarding breed, it is their natural instinct to do so and to think they were freely available to anyone walking off the street who had the money to purchase regardless of their knowledge of the breed was irresponsible.

The rottweiler receives enough bad press without the breed allowed to be sold from a pet shop into inexperienced hands. Again the puppies had not been fully socialized from 6 weeks to 14 weeks of age and had lost this important period in their lives, for any puppy that would be detrimental to its welfare but for a rottweiler, who shortly, would be entering the teens, the hooligan stage in its life and without the correct handling I fear its life maybe short lived or through numerous homes or rescue due to behaviour problems. Not the dogs fault but a combination of factors such as unknown breeding, long transportation from breeder to dealer/pet shop, waiting to be sold from a pet shop too long, then sold to an owner that lacks adequate knowledge of the breed and just wants a 'hard looking dog' even though in reality rottweilers ethically bred and purchased by a responsible, knowledgeable person are quite special and good natured. But bred irresponsible and sold through the puppy trade is an accident waiting to happen if in the wrong hands.

But the message is still the same never ever buy a puppy from a pet shop or dealer and see the puppy interacting with its mother and siblings.

All Party Government Animal Welfare - Meeting

Reading the minutes of the meeting was informative and enlightening concerning dog breeding.

However one comment by James Yates (RSPCA) made me want to scream and it went something like this:

The RSPCA have done a lot on puppy farming and has been the main force in tackling this as well as other issues of cruelty that Marc mentions.  But if we do not receive a complaint about an issue we are not authorized to investigate it, so Marc please let us know if you have specific cases as we are then able to investigate it. WOW!!!       
http://www.apgaw.org/images/stories/6th_December_2011_Meeting_Minutes.pdf

When have the RSPCA 'done a lot on puppy farming'?  They are not in a position to enter a licensed dog breeders premises, even if a concern of animal welfare is raised by the general public.  The RSPCA passes all complaints on to the Council to attend and will only attend themselves if invited to do so by the Council. They call it the joined up approach to working - a working partnership.  Which in effect achieves nothing.

But I will remember James Yates words and quote them next time I have reason to contact the RSPCA, maybe rather than ignore emails sent someone may respond.  Please take note Mr Hubbord (RSPCA) I am still waiting for a reply to my last emails.

Welsh Assembly Government Consultation on Dog Breeding

Here is a link to the latest consultation paper issued by the Welsh Assembly Government.

http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/environmentandcountryside/breedingdogs/?lang=en

There is the opportunity to comment.

Planning Application - Penparc, LLangynin, St Cleares, Carmarthenshire SA33 4BA

URGENT NOTIFICATION

PLANNING APPLICATION Number W/25841

RETENTION OF USE OF FORMER AGRICULTURE BUILDINGS AS DOG BREEDING KENNELS. PENPARC, LLANGYNIN, ST CLEARES, CARMARTHENSHIRE, SA33 4BA.

Carmarthenshire County Council Planning Department, Application Number W/25841.

Here is a link to Carmarthenshire planning department where you can view the plans.http://online.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/eaccessv2/PlanningAppRefSearchResults.aspx

Objections to this application must be received by Carmarthenshire Planning Department by the 10^th January 2011. The planning officer is Jonathon Locke who can be contacted on 01267 224867 email: jglocke@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

The retrospective planning application submitted by the Elizabeth M Roberts of Penparc is for dog breeding kennels, they are already licensed by Carmarthenshire Public Protection Department for 107 breeding bitches and 17 stud dogs and have been for the past few years, yet planning permission was neither applied for by the applicant or asked for by the licensing officer when granting the licence. An Enforcement notice was served on the applicant Number W/ENF/05396 resulting in the applicant submitting the planning application.

The applicant E M Roberts also has a working sheep farm at the same premises with 750 sheep as well as the dogs numbering 124 in total in addition litters of puppies. The litters of puppies it is stated in the application are not sold direct to the public but are sold as trade on a wholesale basis with their transportation taking place once a fortnight. As well as the applicant there are two part-time workers employed on the site. The12 month dog breeding licence (renewed annually) is current until August 2012.

The dog breeding kennels can be viewed on the application plans, they are agriculture buildings, made of concrete and brick , the upper walls and roof with asbestos sheeting and profiled metal sheeting. The one window in Unit 1 is of brown PVC, and is reliant on artificial light, there are some sky lights for natural light but doors are solid and swing type, there are some exercise runs to be seen in photos. Unit 2 the whelping unit has 4 doors with a mesh grid on top of doors for natural light.

The applicant replied on the application form when asked - 'Trade effluents and waste, as NO ' this should be answered with yes as some waste from dog breeding premises is classified as hazardous waste and needs to be disposed of correctly.

Remember objection to be effective need to be on planning issues as welfare issues are only a consideration and not a reason for refusal for a planning application. Never the less it is important to place objections to these applications to enable Councils to see that the general public are not accepting of the commercialization of large scale dog breeding and the selling of puppies through dealers and pet shops. Therefore it important to highlight and make objections to the Council when these applications are submitted by dog breeders.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Patricia

email: puppyalert@btinternet.com

When rescue is a step too far.

Originally I did not intend to write about rescue on this blog because most operate efficiently doing a brilliant job but there are the occasions when something catches my eye and I feel justified in commenting and asking the question, is this just one step too far?

Some rescues concentrate solely on dogs and puppies and in particular dogs from puppy farms and pounds, which in itself should not really raise alarm bells in my thoughts.   After all to rescue a dog from an atrocious situation in a puppy farm or to take dogs on death row must be so rewarding and I have much admiration for those in rescue that tackle the task of neglected and unwanted dogs and puppies.  But this must be responsibly undertaken with care and integrity by those who rescue the dogs and are responsible for their aftercare.

The details I am referring to are on public view on their own rescue web site, therefore one must presume they are comfortable with public awareness of their decisions and actions taken in response to the dogs and puppies that arrive in the centre.  Transparency, unfortunately, may also at times bring with it criticism if the public does not feel comfortable with what they are reading.

My concern relates to an 9 year old female dog, a breeding bitch who was offered for fostering on the 30th November 2011 and this is what followed, taken from their web site.

05-12-11 UPDATE
Poor sweet Jelly!!!! She came to us an older lady and rather thin. We got a little weight on her and sent her to our vet to spay. She was opened up only to find she has at least 3 pups in her tummy. They are already large and well formed so she has been closed and will get a high quality food and a whole lot of love to help her.  Jelly does however need a wonderful foster home - one who is savvy and able to cope with mum dogs in this condition and whelping them.

The rescue after 5 days of getting a little weight on this dog she was sent to be spayed, only for the vet to find that after opening her up, she had at least 3 large well formed puppies inside her. Now whether the rescue or vet were unable to determine if  the dog was in  pup prior to being opened because the puppies could not be felt or ultra sound equipment was not available it does not say.  But should the rescue, in view of this dogs age (nine years) not have ensured she was not in pup before being prepared for spaying?  Due to this poor dogs age and numerous previous litters, would it have been advisable for the vet after removing the puppies for them to be humanely euthanized and the vet to continue with spaying the bitch?  Would this have been a better decision than opening up this dog, stitching her back again and leaving the puppies to go full term?  Which has left  this dog with a fresh wound, stitches which maybe still in when having to give birth in the very near future and suckle puppies or stitches out but a tender wound by the time of the birth, followed yet once more by an operation and spaying?

Another incident caught my attention written on the owners blog, which was as follows.

I  have had highs and very lows. Yesterday a very low. A dog that had only just been given to me died on our vet's table. She was full of infection. The vet needed to operate to save her. Even as she put the towel clamps on her pus broke out of her skin. The whole of her insides were full of this and she was poisoned by it. She had Pyometra that is what's called a Closed Pyometra.  This is an infection in the womb that never showed itself instead manifested inside and made her body septic. We could not save her. She had barely any time in her many years of love and she did not even recognize that. She was cheated and me also of knowing and helping her. If she had been spayed it would have never have happened.  Maybe a lesson for those of you who tell me you love your dogs far too much to spay them.  Maybe the question is do you love them far too much to kill them?  I must say a huge THANK YOU to Jo our vet and the vet nurses this week, for they too have lived my sadness's as we all shed tears together. Never have I met a vet with such love compassion and kindness.  I pray she will stay working for our dogs and our sakes. End

I am aware that a closed pyometra  is very difficult to detect but they can be diagnosed on the basis of clinical signs, which include time of season (often within a month) increased drinking, off colour, and raised white blood cell count.  Furthermore as the uterus is generally distended with pus, this distension can often be detected by x ray or ultra sound.

The rescue said in the blog 'the dog had just been given to me'.  Therefore has the rescue contacted the RSPCA?  Because if this is a case of neglect by the owner of the dog they should  be made responsible under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for failure to get veterinary treatment for their dog, instead of handing it into a rescue and the resulting consequences.

This rescue undertakes a massive task of rescuing dogs and puppies but I do wonder if it does go a step too far in its eagerness to rescue all at all costs. Does the rescue take in too many dogs and distribute them too quickly into a foster homes which are situated,  I understand, all over the country, without giving themselves adequate time to assess the dogs properly in  the rescue beforehand?  Most dogs have very little time in the actual rescue before spaying takes place and then moved from the centre into a foster home which could be hundreds of miles from the rescue in Wales this is sometimes within hours of being operated on and having travelled hundreds of miles to reach the centre from Ireland in the first place. I have to ask is this acceptable from an animal welfare point of view?  Everything happening at this rescue appears to be too hurried, too fast in the eagerness to rescue as may dogs at all cost, regardless. 

At one time the breeding bitches from the puppy farms in Wales were the priority for this rescue (sometimes they ae still taken) but it appears of late they have ventured into fresh pastures and Ireland is favoured more.  But where ever they take dogs from I sincerely hope the rescue will report what they find and see in the premises they visit and not close their eyes to what is happening around them for fear of not being allowed to continue to take the dogs, leaving the unwanted ones to languish in misery until next time...when really these premises should be closed down.   But they will not be unless the authorities have the evidence, the evidence that rescues have if they are involved in taking dogs in from breeders but while people keep quite and say nothing, the vicious circle of over breeding and the rescue of the neglected and unwanted will continue.  We must all do more to stop this happening it is not the answer to continue to rescue and say nothing it is perpetuating the problem of the over breeding of dogs and the production of too many puppies.

    



  

Dogs4Us

In the recent week Dogs4 Us were highlighted by the media, Manchester Evening News who wrote about  Manchester United footballers who in recent years purchased puppies from the Dogs4Us pet store.   Manchester Evening News should not be proud of highlighting celebs and footballers buying puppies from a pet shop, it only shows a lack of knowledge and awareness by the footballers and celebs in the correct way to purchasing a puppy.  

Pet shops and dealers in puppies are not the ideal way to purchase a puppy because it is not possible to see the puppy interacting with the dam or to speak personally with the breeder.  It is very important to ask the breeder about health screening (that reputable breeders undertake) in conjunction with the Kennel Club and BVA screening schemes for known hereditary conditions in pedigree breeds of dogs and the prospective purchaser to view the premises where the puppies were born. This is not possible when buying puppies from pet shops and dealers, a very valid reason why they should be avoided.

Having looked at Dogs4Us web site it appears they cannot make their mind up as to whether they purchase from licensed or unlicensed breeders as the contradict themselves.  But regardless of this, if a pet shops source of puppies is from Wales, it is unlikely to make any difference, due to the poor conditions found in both licensed and unlicensed premises, something that has been highlighted through the media and campaigning groups, the connection between irresponsible commercial dog breeding, dealers and pet shops.  If Southern Ireland is the source then as yet there is no requirement for the licensing for dog breeders so I will leave that to your imagination as to the conditions and the plight of the dogs and the puppies they produce.  N Ireland like S Ireland have some exceedingly large commercial dog breeders who have hundreds of dogs in agriculture sheds (just like Beili Bedwi and many others in Carmarthenshire,Wales) selling all their puppies to dealers and pet shops.  A commodity on a conveyor belt system of mass produced puppies from weary dams and sires who are used repeatedly  to serve the needs of the buying public. This is the sickening puppy trade.

If Manchester Evening News had any concern for animal welfare it would not be highlighting celebs and footballers cuddling their puppies purchased from a pet shop but would engage an undercover investigator to trace the source of where the pet shops and dealers buy their puppies from.  They may get a rude awaking to the reality of the pet shop puppy and the plight of the breeding dogs instead of glitz and glamour of celebs holding puppies and cute puppies displayed inside glass fronted cages in pet superstores, it would be dark sheds, stench, deprivation and suffering. This is not what the public sees (unless anti puppy farm groups highlight through the media) and it certainly will not be what the dealers and pet shops want the public to know when they charge massive over inflated prices for a cute puppy.  The public are getting duped and it is time they realised it.

Maybe publicly Dogs4Us may like to explain what does their vet actually check when  the vet examins the puppies, when they say 'good physical condition' and '6 month guarentee'?  The vet can only give a very basic health check such as heart, eyes and ears of the puppy.  The 6 month guarantee is meaningless because anyone purchasing a puppy from a seller who is in the business of selling puppies is covered by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 the same as it they had  purchased any other commodity such as TV, car of washing machine.

What is the 7 day settling in period they offer?  The consumer has the right to return, replace or repair under the Sale of Goods Act 1979,  therefore what are they offering other than what is the consumers right under consumer law with or without their guarentee?

If the purchaser does not receive details of health screening of the dam and sire of the puppy because they have not been screened under the BVA, KC schemes.

The purchasers does not receive a pedigree or registration document that can be authenticated providing the puppy purchaser the assurance that the puppy they purchased was bred by the named person on the paperwork.  This means they also cannot always check where the puppy was bred and by whom therefore they only have the sellers word that the puppy they are purchasing was not bred on a puppy farm.

What is a puppy farm? There is no legal definition of a puppy farm.  A puppy farm can only be described   by an individuals interpretation of what they envisage a puppy farm to be. A puppy farm as far as my own interpretation is that it is a dog breeding establishment that breeds for commercial gain and sells puppies to dealers and pet shops, they maybe licensed or not licensed it does not make an difference, they are mass producing puppies for the puppy trade. 

Dogs4Us on their site say 'a very small percentage of people in the UK are trying to discredit our good name by linking us with puppy farms.  This is utter nonsense and does not represent what Dogs4Us is about'.  Then maybe Dogs4Us need to explain when they buy in and resell puppies where they actually do purchase their puppies from that can offer them a constant supply of puppies 365 days of the year if it is not the puppy farmer/commercial dog breeder?