Pet owner’s shock over puppy fraud ‘breeder’
WHEN Rebecca Lugg went along to collect her new puppy, everything seemed as it should be.
They were told they couldn’t meet the puppy’s parents, but accepted the reason why.
After all, everything seemed normal. It looked like a wholesome family home, the sort of place you would like your new puppy to have started out in life.
“When we got to the property the puppy was inside his home,” said Mrs Lugg, from Neath.
“I had spoken on the phone and was sent a picture of mum and dad, but when I got there they said they were locked away as they knew guests were coming.
“Me, being over trustworthy, believed him as he had previously sent me the pictures.
“We’d gone along to this house, and it was a lovely house, log fire burning, vegetables on the table, it was all lovely and familyorientated and we didn’t think twice.”
So they handed over the £390 payment for black labrador Kenny to “breeder”
Thomas home.
That was when the sheen of normality began to tarnish. Kenny was not a normal puppy.
“My lab is not normal,” added Mrs Lugg. “He is skinny and skitty and hyperactive.
“We are keeping an eye on his weight as we are worried about his ravenous appetite and the fact he doesn’t put much weight on.
“He drinks a lot and it’s ridiculous how much he poos, it’s four or five times a day and it’s not normal. He’s very skitty, usually Dylan Huw and headed labs are really docile, but not with him.”
Still they did not suspect the truth, until they saw the story on WalesOnline that Thomas, of New Inn, Llandeilo, had deliberately misled customers and sold severely ill puppies across the country.
He used altered documents and veterinary cards to cover the trail of his fraudulent behaviour, selling puppies that required urgent medical treatment. One chocolate labrador he sold had to be put down.
Adverts would state that the puppies for sale were raised on a property among family and children, when in reality it was difficult to prove where they came from.
He told customers the puppy’s mother was “under the weather” when quizzed about her whereabouts.
Carmarthenshire Council began to take action when several people contacted it, concerned that animals they bought were in poor health, and Thomas appeared “nervous” and “shifty”.
A Trading Standards investigation was launched and due to what was called “overwhelming evidence”, Thomas pleaded guilty to 14 separate offences under the Fraud Act 2006 and the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981.
At Swansea Crown Court, on December 20, the 59-year-old was forced to pay £215,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act and given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, for his actions.
Mrs Lugg added: “My husband spotted the story at around midnight, and said to me, ‘Have you seen this article’. We took a closer look at the address and it was the same one we went to. I was gutted, I was mad at myself.
“My concern now is whether he has had the sufficient amount of vaccinations, whether he has had one in the past and whether or not that has run its course. We’re concerned for his welfare.”
Kenny is now seven months old and his owners have their fingers crossed for him.
“We’ve taken him to the vet a number of times, and so far, touch wood, everything has come back fine, and he is starting to grow.”
Following the case, Carmarthenshire Council urged people to be vigilant when purchasing a puppy to avoid funding the illegal dog breeding trade.
It said the mother and puppy should be visible at the place of breeding and documents should be thoroughly checked and concerns raised with vets.
The UK Government has announced it is to ban unethical puppy and kitten farms, and the Welsh Government may follow suit.