Another Puppy Farm

[Shmurps]

Claims of dog cruelty at Meredith property

companionanimalnews | July 3, 2010 at 2:46 am | Tags: Buy a cat, Buy a dog, Puppy Mills | Categories: Animal cruelty, Puppy Mills, RSPCA victoria, Victoria | URL: http://wp.me/pDuYr-6E

Geelong Advertiser, Kerri-Ann Hobbs; July 2nd, 2010

A dog heavily chained in terrible conditions at a Meredith property.

THIS tiny dog is just one of about 25 that spends its days shackled or caged on a Meredith property.

See more photos from inside the puppy farm. Click here (WARNING: Contains graphic images)

It is claimed that one dog has already died in the cold pens in the past week, but authorities refuse to act because they have decided the owner is not a commercial breeder.

Yet she is a member and registered breeder of an independent dog group the Mini Foxie Club of Australia.

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Animal Liberation Victoria conducted a late-night raid on the farm earlier this week, claiming dogs were kept in filthy, freezing conditions.

"We did temperature checks throughout the inspection and it was minus two degrees," ALV's Debra Tranter said.

"Dogs have no bedding and are kept on putrid wet freezing concrete floors inside a shed.

"It hasn't been cleaned for some time as most pen floors were covered in faeces and a lot of dogs did not have water.

"We found four dogs chained up to kennels outside the sheds and to get to these dogs was extremely difficult as there was no gate or path leading to them.

"They are tiny dogs with heavy, thick chains.

"They were hidden behind the shed and we are at a loss as to how the owner would access these dogs in order to feed and water them."

Ms Tranter alerted the RSPCA and Golden Plains Shire to the dogs' plight, urging them to inspect the property.

The next day the authorities visited the farm and RSPCA inspectors have told the owner to fix conditions to give her dogs clean, dry, safe pens in which to live.

"We do have some concerns about the welfare of the dogs and inspectors are working with the owner to rectify that situation," RSPCA inspector manager Greg Boland told the Geelong Advertiser.

"She told inspectors she is only breeding one litter of pups per year, and on the evidence that's about right."

In an email to Ms Tranter, one RSPCA inspector confirmed the property was "maintained in a poor hygienic condition" but all dogs had water despite being kept in conditions that were "far from ideal".

"We will closely monitor the property and we intend to visit again next week," he advised Ms Tranter.

"We will also periodically check in the coming months."

Golden Plains Shire media officer Felicity Bolitho confirmed the visit to the property on Tuesday but said rangers were not worried about the animals.

"The visit found all dogs on the property are registered with council and conditions are fine," she said.

"There was no evidence to suggest that the property was a breeding/puppy farm."

The property is just one of four to come to the attention of authorities in the region in the past four months.

In February, Beremboke puppy farmers Les and Melinda Paxton were forced to close their dog breeding business down after the Geelong Advertiser revealed the horror conditions on their property north of Anakie.

Weeks later, City of Greater Geelong and RSPCA inspectors were called to investigate an alleged puppy farm at Anakie on a property owned by Robert Adamo. Those investigations continue.

And later this month, Moorabool Shire Council will decide whether to issue a building permit to a Melbourne puppy farm who wants to expand his business to keep more than 100 breeding bitches at a Ballan property. Attempts to contact the Meredith breeder last night failed.

[Kirty]

Yet she is a member and registered breeder of an independent dog group the Mini Foxie Club of Australia.

So I bloody hope that this club is investigating this person.

"There was no evidence to suggest that the property was a breeding/puppy farm."

Well, thank goodness for that. The dogs can freeze to death and live in filthy conditions, as long as she isn't breeding them.

[pie]

Those poor dogs, my Tentie does not like cold at all, those poor MFs must be freezing

Those photos

I hope the MFCA strip this person of their membership.

Hopefully the RSPCA can get them out soon - how on EARTH can they not do anything about this. These dogs are the very animals RSPCA should be helping!! Sorry but telling someone to remedy the conditions just doesn't cut it - they should never have been in that condition in the first place!

[mortonplace]

Pure flith and disgust Them poor dogs

When are councils going to come to terms breeding on a large scale is sheer crulety??

No one can claim to be able to look after this amount of dogs nor justify why they need to breed??

The nights have been so very very cold them poor dogs would be freezeing and each and every night would be so hard on them

People like this need to be made to feel the same as there dogs...Horrid freaks...

lm sure the team will get them sorted soon enough sometime takes a long time but they really do try

[Kirty]

There is a post in the rescue thread about these dogs. Apparently 10-11 dogs have been taken in by a rescue group. They urgently need foster carers and donations for them.

[Greytmate]

Golden Plains Shire media officer Felicity Bolitho confirmed the visit to the property on Tuesday but said rangers were not worried about the animals.

"The visit found all dogs on the property are registered with council and conditions are fine," she said.

"There was no evidence to suggest that the property was a breeding/puppy farm."

Felicity and the counsellors she speaks for at the Golden Plains Shire council seem not to understand the difference between fine conditions and deplorable ones.

Who cares what label we or the council give this property. Puppy farmer, backyard breeder or hobby breed enthusiast. It is so wrong and cruel to have dogs living in cold, filthy conditions, chained up or without appropriate bedding.

[Shmurps]

There is a post in the rescue thread about these dogs. Apparently 10-11 dogs have been taken in by a rescue group. They urgently need foster carers and donations for them.

Can you please show me where in the rescue thread

[Shmurps]

There is a post in the rescue thread about these dogs. Apparently 10-11 dogs have been taken in by a rescue group. They urgently need foster carers and donations for them.

Can you please show me where in the rescue thread

Got it.

[Jed]

On a property near where I am staying are a number (about 10) enclosures, about 6 - 8 m square, each contains a small roofed shelter with sides, about 3/4 metre high. No trees, no shrubs, just the fences and the shelter. Each enclosure contacts 2 - 5 small breed purebred dogs. They are there all day, without any interaction that I have seen, no toys, no bones. At night, they go into a shed, obviously, and judging by the size of it, in crates. No toys, no socialisation, no one to play with them, nothing.

And they must be boiling in summer and freezing in winter

What a dreadfully unfulfilling and unsatisfactory life.

Wish AL would raid it. Enough to make you want to weep

[Christina]

Another disgusting story but what I can't figure out is

How can the RSPCA remove all those dogs from the registered tibbie breeder re the debarking fiasco, who were in good condition & well looked after in comfort yet

They can not remove these particular dogs who are obviously living in horrendous & inadequate conditions ?

Where were the vet, police & TV cameras when they checked this horror place out ?

Are the rules made up as they go along ?

Sick world. Poor dogs.

[Nekhbet]

Golden Plains Shire shares a boundary with City of Greater Geelong, seem to share the same attitude with them too. We're a mecca for puppy farmers. Another one is applying for a permit for 60 dogs on 5 acres of land - all the one breed.

[pandypam]

The Geelong puppy farm is owned by an elderly women who is not in the best way herself.

The RSPCA were "monitoring" things when ALV decided that something had to be done asap, with the temp being -3 at night and no bedding these little dogs needed help straight away.

11 or 12 were surrendered and the remaining were given lots of warm beds, had their cells cleaned etc.

I understand that there will be more talks with the women on Monday with the hope that more dogs will be rescued.

All dogs need vet work, de sexing, teeth, tumors etc and ALV are asking anyone with a few $$ to help.

for this group for doing a great job and helping both the dogs and the unfortunate aged women.

[Shmurps]

This story was just on the 6pm news channel 7.

[Ripley]

I can't remember the name of the puppy farm where my mother's KCC came from. It was up on the NSW/Qld border area and was raided by the rspca. All mum was told she was found in a garage/shed type situation in a cage in the dark and had a couple of puppies with her. There was cannibalisation at that place and owner has been fined and the episode was on RSPCA tv series last year (mum's KCC was the one being loaded into the boot in that episode). Charlotte is still very wary of people and won't go near men at all. She fear wees if a stranger picks her up. She has a beautiful nature though, it's such a shame she spent the first 3 years of her life in squalor.

Edited July 7, 2010 by Ripley

[~Anne~]

The Meredith situation has been rectified I think. This thread has the details.

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=199869