Flintshire dog rescue founder warns of backyard breeders and puppy farms
The founder of a Flintshire dog rescue charity is warning against buying dogs from unregistered breeders as she cares for a five-year-old English bulldog which has given birth to up to eight litters of puppies.
Dawn Ann Taylor, who runs Skylor’s Animal Rescue in Dobshill, near Buckley, is taking care of Phoebe, the bulldog, who is already suffering from arthritis after being kept on a puppy farm before being abandoned on the streets.
Phoebe’s pups could have been worth over £5,000 each on the market but inbreeding to enhance her powerful physique has left her unable to give birth naturally so each delivery would have been by caesarean section.
Denbigh-based self-storage giant Lock Stock, who opened a new storage park in Buckley 12 months ago, have stepped up with a donation worth £500 for the charity which has rehomed almost 200 dogs since she founded it six years ago.
Dawn said: “I’m really grateful for the support from Lock Stock and others which help me keep going as I’m currently looking after 13 in addition to six dogs of my own and four more which are being fostered.
“Phoebe came to us as a stray and she was either a puppy farm dog or a back yard breeder and has given birth several times and each would have involved a caesarean section but she is a lovely natured dog and would make an excellent pet for an older person because she doesn’t need a great deal of exercise.
“Dogs like her are really exploited and she could have had as many as eight litters and then just been dumped on the streets.
“That’s why it’s important that people buy their pets from reputable dog breeders who will take proper care and they should make sure they see where the dog has been kept and see the parent dogs as well if possible.
“There are plenty of these backyard breeders and puppy farms here in North Wales where the dogs are kept in horrendous conditions and just exploited because of the high prices they can get for puppies now.
“You should make sure you get a puppy from a reputable breeder who will have bred for temperament and health or get a rescue dog.
“There should be a law against these unscrupulous breeders and against the people who breed greyhounds for racing and if they aren’t good enough they just bin them off.”
Lock Stock Area Manager Rob Jones said: “We are delighted to help Dawn and Phoebe. We like to get involved with charities and local organisations in the places where we operate and since we opened in Buckley we have also helped out a local school and a food bank.
“As a family we always kept dogs and really appreciate what wonderful companions they are.
“Phoebe is a sweet and friendly dog and we’re delighted to help Dawn and the Skylor’s charity.
“We only opened in Buckley about 12 months ago and already the site is almost full so helping the local community is our way of saying thank you to the people of the town.”
Dawn’s other dogs hoping to be rehomed include Sydney, a three-year-old former racing greyhound, while she is also looking after Evie, a pup born with a badly deformed front leg.
She needs an operation to fuse the radius and ulna bones in her shin, remove a separate floating piece of bone and replace her toes with a prosthetic to help her balance and be more comfortable walking.
Dawn added: “Some dogs can have the problem leg amputated and get by on three legs but Evie is a breed that is very front heavy and would find it very difficult to walk as she gets older.
“The operation costs £12,000 but people like Lock Stock have been very generous and already we’re halfway there.”
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