November 20, 2018 9.32 am This story is over 63 months old

“My pet was dying”: Complaints mount over raided breeders

Horror claims from pet owners

Dying animals and expensive vet bills were among the horror claims from pet owners after they bought dogs from a raided breeders.

Little Rascals Pets in Brant Broughton near Lincoln was raided last week by the RSPCA and police.

Some 94 dogs were taken from the premises into the care of the RSPCA.

The breeders, trading as Puppies at Home, are being investigated by the animal welfare charity.

Complaints about the business have surfaced on online platforms in recent years.

The BBC Inside Out programme also investigated the breeding business back in 2009 and again in 2013. During filming they found many complaints of animals’ ill health.

Following recent raids, several pet owners have claimed their animals bought from Little Rascals Pets have had health problems.

Frances Hallam told The Lincolnite: “Our poor little Bambi was only a few weeks old when she died in the arms of the vet.

“Her stomach was full of wood shavings when we first got her home. We had her for four days and thee of those she was at the vets.

“She died from a heart murmur. It was so heartbreaking.”

Another pet owner, Kate Mary, said: “I bought a dog from here years ago. She had severe problems.

“She suffered from brain trauma and she was absolutely crazy as can be. Never could be trained and never showed normal development.”

Karen Baker said: “I got my dog from there and within two days I had to rush her to the vets. They didn’t think she would make it because she had kennel cough and twisted intestines.

“I’m pleased to say she is still alive. The breeders told us that she was 12 weeks old but the vets said she was actually about four or five weeks old.”

Another pet owner, Jennie Simmonds, claimed to have spent thousands in vets bills.

She said: “My dog came from here. We ended up paying around £20,000 over Alfie’s lifetime.

“He has hip dysplasia issues and I hope that they are never opened again.”

Investigations are continuing at the business premises, the nature of which is not clear.