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Coronavirus: Unscrupulous breeders using lockdown to sell sick puppies for over the odds

Unscrupulous breeders using lockdown to sell sick puppies for over the odds (Sky News)

Unscrupulous breeders are using a surge in demand for puppies during lockdown to sell underage and sick dogs for over the odds prices.

The latest figures show the Dogs Trust had a 393% increase in enquiries about puppies from 17 April to 20 May this year, compared with the same time last year.

And the Kennel Club saw a 237% rise in the use of its online Find A Puppy service in May compared with last May.

Kim Dharda had wanted to get a dog for a while and decided with the spare time she had during lockdown it was a good time to get a puppy.

After finding an advert for the same Shih Tzu cross puppies on both Gumtree and Preloved for £1,400, the breeder said that, because of lockdown, she could only see the puppies, who he said were nine weeks old, on Zoom.

She told Sky News: "They looked healthy so we got an Uber to the breeder's house and were given a medical card and we exchanged the cash - we were back in the taxi within three minutes."

The Dhardas had taken their two daughters with them and she realised the puppy did not look quite right in the taxi but said she did not have time to think and the children were so excited.

That night, the puppy, Bibi, was throwing up, had diarrhoea and was very lethargic so she took him straight to the vet, who said he was severely dehydrated, malnourished and only five weeks old.

She said: "I broke down in tears because I felt upset, I felt sorry for him and I felt cheated because I paid over the odds for him.

"I'm now having to fit vet bills that I shouldn't have to be. So instead of a nice new puppy and doing all the training I'm having to nurse him back to health.

"After a week I thought, 'I can't do this, I'm going to give him up', but the girls said, 'we can do this' - they kept me going.

"Bibi's doing very well now, he's six and a half weeks and acting like a puppy should, but you shouldn't have to go through that with a puppy.

"It's hard work but he's well worth it. It was blood, sweat and tears.

"My advice to anyone is don't take your children with you to get a puppy because it adds to the stress - it was rushed anyway, I didn't have time to think and the kids were going 'puppy puppy'.

"Alarm bells were going but I didn't make the right decision. If I was on my own, maybe I wouldn't have taken him."

Dr Scott Miller, Bibi's vet in Isleworth, southwest London, said the lockdown has had "massively negative effects" on puppy purchases and the increase in prices means puppies are leaving their mothers too early - all for money.

He said: "Unscrupulous breeders have been able to act under the cloak of COVID-19 by bringing puppies to people's doors, meeting them on the street, in service stations.

"A puppy leaving its mother before eight weeks can be incredibly detrimental to their health, a lot of these puppies have not been vaccinated, leaving them open to serious illnesses such as parvovirus.

"The ones who survive are weak, likely to suffer from behavioural issues and have stunted growth."

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Bill Lambert, head of health and welfare at The Kennel Club, said staff are very concerned people will not have time to look after a dog once lockdown is over, and fears there could be lots of puppies who are given up.

He told Sky News: "That could lead to all sorts of welfare problems, dogs can suffer from separation anxiety when they are used to having somebody there all the time, suddenly they are left alone and that can cause massive problems."

Mr Lambert said because so many people are buying puppies, there is a shortage which is leading to desperate buyers not listening to advice - something, he said, which is crucial.

The Kennel Club's puppy buying advice: