​Illegal puppy farming is an evil, cruel trade needing tighter laws

But mostly, humans just get on with their lives and soon start looking for a replacement. That was me a few months back though I thought I would never get over the loss of my black cocker spaniel, which was a gift from my son who had rescued him some years before. He was moving on to a new career abroad so his adored dog, which I knew well from family visits, came to me.

We both aged together but then he developed a cancerous illness and I found it difficult to recover from his death.

Recently we began an online search of the animal shelters in Ulster where unwanted animals and those removed from illegal breeders are taken. At one of these wonderful places I was shown a beautiful young dog who had been used for illegal breeding. She was not much over two years old and is believed to have had two litters already. Miraculously she had been rescued by the authorities who appear to have become proficient at this kind of work here. Without them this evil trade would

probably escalate out of control.

I’ve only just now started to read up on illegal puppy farms. America has millions of them. Even if we can assume that lots of those pups will go to good homes, it will be the mothers, bitches, who will be dumped when they can no longer keep up the pace. These unfortunate creatures, virtually crippled from constant births will be instantly forgotten.

My new dog was a bit underweight and quiet trying to get used to human contact in the shelter. The staff – mostly volunteers – do their best to give comfort and kindness to their furry guests with the aim of finding new, loving homes for them. By our second visit she seemed more cheery and responsive no doubt due to the loving care she was getting from the volunteers.

No-one who considers taking a dog from an animal shelter should imagine it comes free. The money for restoring these beautiful creatures to health, providing them suitable kennels, veterinary bills which are a constant expense along with electricity bills and the journeys that have to be made for

rescue purposes all mount up. Without volunteers, donations from the public and new owners they couldn’t exist and the lives of thousands of dogs would be in peril. The illegal dealers are often hunted down only to start up again somewhere else.

This week the Belfast Telegraph reported the court case of a Belfast man who `tried to transport 16 puppies to England by squeezing them into small and filthy containers without food or water in his car boot. It was to be an eight-hr journey with the defendant having no access to the vehicle during the journey. One of the animals was so sick that it subsequently had to be put down’.

His punishment was paltry – 100 hours of community service, disqualification from owning dogs or transporting any animals for a 10-year period.

This evil trade is a stain on our reputation as dog lovers. The happiness I have received from my precious pup has nulled the pain of losing the ones who have gone before. And she seems happy too.