We only had Daisy for three days and then she spent four days in the vet’s before she died... we were heartbroken
Sad end for the dog lovers duped by illegal puppy traders
ANIMAL welfare experts have warned of the heartbreaking dangers of buying dogs from rogue traders after the Daily Mirror exposed a £100million illegal puppy trafficking network.
Thousands of dog lovers are being duped into buying sick animals from gangs posing as legitimate breeders who sneak puppies into Britain from unregulated Eastern European or Irish farms. Buyers are left with poorly pups costing thousands in vet bills or dogs that die from being inbred.
One couple, Elaine and David Oxley, were left heartbroken when a puppy they bought from what they thought was a local breeder advertising online died within a week.
They visited the woman’s home and paid £500 for a Yorkshire Terrier, naming it Daisy. But hours later the pup fell ill and was diagnosed with kidney and liver failure.
The couple, from Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancs, were victims of a puppy trafficking ring raking in up to £35,000 a week. The Mirror reported yesterday how Peter Jones, Julian King and his sister Grace Banks, all from Greater Manchester, were caught after a five-year investigation by the RSPCA.
Elaine said: “When we collected Daisy she seemed tired and had no energy but we were told she had been running around a lot earlier and had worn herself out.
“They told us that Daisy was the last one of the litter and we could not see her mother. Instead she showed me a picture of an adult Yorkshire Terrier she claimed was Daisy’s mother on her mobile phone. They seemed like such nice, dog-loving people. The house appeared to be a family home, very clean, the puppy was in a pen that had clean bedding.
“The woman seemed so believable. She gave us a blanket she said would smell of Daisy’s mother to comfort her. When we got her home, poor Daisy became gravely ill.”
Elaine explained how she took her puppy to the vet, but despite emergency surgery Daisy died. She said: “It was devastating. We only had her for three days and then