Pug rescued from puppy farm has been stolen from her new owner
Owner fears beloved pet might be used as bait in dog f ight
A PUG who had a traumatic start as a breeding mother in one of the country’s worst puppy farms has been snatched from her new home.
There are now fears Pippa, who is terrified of men and sticks after her time in the notorious Myshall puppy farm in Co. Carlow, will be used as bait in the underground world of illegal dog fighting.
Her owner Eva Whelan told the Irish Mail on Sunday that Pippa is now neutered and chipped and is of little use to a breeder. Ms Whelan also told how she has tried desperately to get Pippa back by responding to DoneDeal adverts but was threatened with having her ‘head kicked in’ when she backed away from a sale after realising that the dog being sold was not hers.
The disturbing incident highlights the reality of puppy farm culture and the lucrative world of breeding dogs purely for profit.
The situation has worsened during lockdown as demand for pets soars with many people bored at home. Pedigree dogs are being snatched daily from back gardens all over the country.
‘I let my three dogs out for a wee at around 11pm and Pippa never returned,’ Ms Whelan told the MoS. ‘I called them in before bed and, usually, Pippa is first in. We have an acre and a half of garden so I left it another few minutes, but she never returned.’
At around the same time, the dog lover and nurse received a text alert about a red van acting suspiciously in the area.
‘A neighbour followed the van and it slowed outside my house,’ she added. ‘My neighbour thought they were lamping in the fields.’
Ms Whelan spoke of how she spotted a pug for sale online.
She travelled to Cork with her husband and met a man in a carpark she knew instantly was ‘dodgy’.
When she realised the dog for sale was not Pippa she told the man she had changed her mind and he threatened to ‘box the head’ off her and her husband.
‘He was doing this lovely gentleman act to start and then turned nasty,’ she said.
‘He told us we had wasted his f***ing time and then threatened us. If it had been Pippa I would have actually bought her.
‘I know I shouldn’t because that is just giving money to these people, but I can’t bear to think she could be used for dogfighting.’
Julie Boulton, who founded National Homechecks for Rescues, shared photographs of Pippa on Facebook and the post has been shared almost 10,000 times, but to date there has been no sign.
Pippa was rescued from notorious Carlow puppy farmer James Kavanagh in 2015. He was sentenced to three years in jail last year, given a €35,000 fine and banned from owning dogs and horses for life.
Suspicious van was spotted by neighbour
‘I can’t bear to think of her being used in a fight’