ALMOST 20 puppies and dogs saved from a ‘disgusting’ property have now been rehomed in Gloucestershire thanks to the work of a local animal charity.
A 44-year-old woman from Tredegar in Wales kept 90 dogs including labradors, dachshunds and French bulldogs - in "disgusting conditions" contaminated with faeces and urine.
The Cotswolds Dogs & Cats Home were contacted by the RSPCA and took in 18 of the dogs into their centre in Cambridge near Dursley.
RSPCA Inspector Darren Oakley described the conditions as ‘horrendous’ with floors covered in faeces with the house becoming a ‘large disgusting kennel’ where the dogs had no access to no food or water.
Video footage of the appalling conditions these dogs were living in has now been released by the RSPCA.
READ MORE: Three dogs in Dursley found by RSPCA and police living in squalid conditions
READ MORE: Puppy dumped in bin near Gloucester Dunelm saved by Cotswolds Dogs and Cats Home
Road to recovery
Almost 20 dogs were brought to CDCH, including two females, a Dachshund named Mini and a Dachshund cross Jack Russell named Toffee, each with four puppies, as well as eight 7-week-old French Bulldog puppies.
Mini’s puppies were all named after cars, while Toffee’s puppies were all named after sweets and the eight French Bulldogs were named after cheese and bread.
“I remember the day so clearly and unfortunately not for anything positive”, said Ebony Poole who works at CDCH as a senior assistant.
"What me and my colleagues witnessed that day is a sight that will never leave me.
“I walked into the office and my colleague had a tiny French Bulldog puppy on his lap.
“This poor puppy was a shell of a puppy. She was weak, lethargic and scared.
“She couldn’t even raise her head because she was so weak.
Almost immediately after their arrival in Gloucestershire, all puppies were eventually transferred to a nearby critical care unit as all the young dogs exhibited signs of parvovirus - a dangerous canine filth virus.
Two puppies eventually died of the virus - Brie and Crouton - while the remaining 16 dogs started their road to recovery.
Warning – this video contains graphic content.
Happily re-homed
One of the puppies, Cheddar, a French Bulldog, spent nearly three months between the vets and CDCH recovering.
He has now been adopted by Michelle, a local woman who lives in the Dursley area.
All the dogs brought to CDCH have been now rehomed and the animal charity is now urging people to consider rescuing animals instead of buying.
Ebony said: “Even after having first-hand experience of seeing the state these dogs were in, nothing could have prepared me for the footage that I have recently seen of the conditions they were being kept in.”
“I have replayed the video a number of times and the more I watch it the harder it becomes to watch.
“The only positive thing I can take away from the video is that the dogs are now free from living in such diabolical conditions and are in incredibly loving forever homes.”
Court case concluded
The owner was prosecuted by the RSPCA and the case was heard at Newport Magistrates' Court on October 27, 2022.
She has been disqualified from keeping dogs, participating in keeping dogs and dealing in dogs for five years.
She was also sentenced to a twelve-month community order, which means she will be supervised by the probation service and required to carry out 20 days of activities.
You can donate to Cotswold Dogs and Cats Home here.
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