Our breed has been devastated with the news of nearly 100 Saint Bernards being found in apparently appalling conditions
http://www.northantset.co.uk/news/Two-St-Bernard-dogs-die.4748512.jp
At present we in the breed are all trying to offer whatever help we can, but it is very sad indeed and I feel sick to the stomach.

Karen

thats just awful. poor poor dogs.

heck thats a lot of saints....is it a known breeder or is it a puppy farm? :(

Good grief, I can't even begin to imagine the logistical nightmare, not to mention the expense of trying to kennel then rehome 98 St Bernards. I wonder what went wrong and where the owner is? Surely there must have been staff too - what happened to them..??

From the website it looks like an ideal setup, and the owner a vet nurse and groomer but I still wonder about anyone having that quantity of dogs, even with staff to help.

> heck thats a lot of saints....is it a known breeder or is it a puppy farm?

A quick google brings up some show results for the affix, including one international champ. I see they have a page on here too. I worry for the health (mental or physical) of the owner.

That is shocking.  I can't even begin to imagine what sight met those RSPCA inspectors, let alone how one would begin to co-ordinate a rescue effort for 98 Saints.

>A quick google brings up some show results for the affix, including one international champ. I see they have a page on here too. I worry for the health (mental or physical) of the owner.

I agree...very worrying indeed.  Firstly, that someone could amass so many dogs and secondly, that the property was just abandoned.  Those are not the actions of someone of sound mind, I fear.

Blimey. I hope the RSPCA will accept help from those who know the breed, but even so that is one heck of a big problem x 98!

Is there a worry that something has happened to the owner? Were the kennels owned/leased? Surely people don't just walk away if they own the property?

M.

This is a respected kennel in the breed, not a back street breeder.  Someone who actively showed her dogs, both here and abroad.
We are unaware at the moment what has gone wrong, but at present the priority is the dogs and the puppies.

Karen

Oh dear!
I do hope there is enough help around.......

Karen

Have any of you read some of the comments posted under the story in the link given?  They may not have been there when you first looked but now someone has decided to object to this story on the grounds that the location is misrepresented - something about proximity to Corby...

This is a tragic story on so many levels but how odd that someone would ignore the issue completely to make this complaint

Such a sad story for the dogs but also potentially about the owners (?).  It seems that no one saw this coming.  Does anyone in the breed know if there will there be an update posted somewhere.  Karen will you be able to keep us informed?  I don't know what I can do to help but I'd like the opportunity to try.

KazzF, my heartfelt best wishes to you and all of your fellow supporters.  I truly hope you can do something for the good of these poor innocent (big) babies.  Such noble dogs!  I have always been a fan and cannot begin to imagine what effect this crisis will have on the breed as well as the show scene in general.

With so many dogs to care for and board there must have been more help than just the owner, where are the other staff? I guess it will all come out, something terrible must have happend for the owner to just disappear, hope that she is ok!

Back to the dogs,  I hope that they can all be placed and all will recover, thank goodness they were discovered before there were more deaths, I wonder if someone came for their dog and that was how it was discovered. Poor dogs what a tragedy.

Another report says that someone who was boarding their dog contacted the Police (or was it the RSPCA?) as he could not get any reply to numerous phone calls and was concerned.

It does sound as if something serious must have gone wrong, but can't imagine what. Until we know otherwise, sounds very worrying about the owner.

M.

How horrible - I do hope the owner of the kennels is found safe and well, although I really hope these poor innocent animals haven't been abandoned.  I guess I don't really know what to think.

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1090951/Two-St-Bernard-dogs-die-RSPCA-officers-rescue-100-abandoned-kennels.html

I just hope she is ok and nothing has happened to her but even so, there must have been kennel hands. There is no way one person can look after that many dogs alone.

That is awful.
But what I keep thinking is that something has happened.
If the ones that came back as borders only a week ago, then something could have happened in the last week as cant see someone neglecting dogs taking back animals???
It doesnt ring like a normal neglect case :( :( :(
Lea :)

definately doesnt sound like genuine cruelty, the breeder clearly was into her dogs and to just vanish is extremely odd not to mention very worrying?  i keep thinking what if something has happened to her, she would be devastated to know her beloved dogs were left alone, cold and hungry...very sad :(

> It doesnt ring like a normal neglect case

It doesn't.  I can't help feeling that she may have suffered an accident either physically or mentally.  Perhaps financial difficults have played a part and staff laid off leaving her to manage alone.  I hope she is OK if this is the case.

Thsts what I keep coming back to Isabel.
Mental illness is high on my list,
But also as you say financial problems.
It is possible to look after 100 dogs on your own(ie feed water and clean up after  (I used to look after 30 with the owner) but they would not get ANY 1 to 1 so to be as good as they are and nt ferelb then they must have had human in put.
I actualy feel very worried for the owner and hope they find her alive quickly.
Lea :)

My first thought when I saw this was car accident?  Which could account for more than one person :( then hospitalization due to physical/mental emergency? 

Really doesn't seem like a deliberate cruelty or neglect case.

Hope this woman is OK

Certainly doesn't look like neglect, the dogs in the second picture down on the link otterhound gave look as if they are in good condition, and the puppy in the first picture, although filthy and obviously scared doesn't look as if it has been ill treated. A dreadful thing to happen though and I hope that the woman is OK. Hopefully more information will become apparent soon but that is a lot of St Bernards to find homes for .

ETA: Rather than try to move them all would they not be better to clean up the kennels and the dogs where they are and draft people in to look after them there? Would seem more sensible than trying to move them to different kennels - very few will have room for this number of dogs and there is nothing said about the kennels being unsuitable - just in a mess because they hadn't been cleaned up.

Hi  think I agree with most that has been said so far. I read the report and didnt think crulty but imagined a car accident and the owner not being found yet. Doesnt account for staff but did she definatly have staff?  I to think they should be left were they are and get someone in to clean them up. Dont see any point in removing them at the moment, Not until the facts are known.  I also hope they dont start to rehome until they know whats what.

Does this lady have any relatives or close friends that may have a idea what happened.

>It doesn't.  I can't help feeling that she may have suffered an accident either physically or mentally.  Perhaps financial difficults have played a part and staff laid off leaving her to manage alone.  I hope she is OK if this is the case.

Very much what I was thinking.

I do hope the owner is found safe and well soon.  As has been said, it doesn't have the ring of the 'usual' neglect case about it.

>Rather than try to move them all would they not be better to clean up the kennels and the dogs where they are

Maybe the police consider it a crime scene.  I feel so scared for this lady, I hope they find her soon and she is ok.  Only time will tell I guess.

I to think they should be left were they are and get someone in to clean them up. Dont see any point in removing them

It would be a heck of a lot easier wouldn't it?  Problem is they are on private property so would not be allowed to just take over someone elses kennel and run it, it could be classed as tresspass, (even by a relative coming in without permission) the RSPCA can remove the dogs due to cruelty and abandonment but not do anything on the property.

There is going to be a problem in re-homing too, if most of the dogs are owned by the owner of the kennel, though I guess that may come under the same act as taking and re-homing a dog from a home of cruelty, but the owner hasn't been notified so not sure.

If it were financial I hope that she would have just phoned the authorities and said I can't cope please take the dogs, or even asked for them to be pts, from what I have read of her she does not come across as someone that would just leave her dogs.

Her relatives must be out of their minds with worry.

Keep us informed they are such lovely dogs I would like to know what happened.

How awful. It does seem strange that there is no staff as i used to work in a boarding kennels and we found it hard work looking after 40 dogs between two of us. I hope that this lady is ok and that all dogs find loving homes! Please keep us informed.

This is obviously a tragedy - both human and animal.  My thoughts are with the family of the owner/breeder - if she has any family - and with the owners of the dogs left to board with her.

Let us hope that there can be a happy ending here.

Ditto, she must be at her witts end to leave such beautiful dogs or unable to come back?

I hope they dont find them permanent homes until it is found out what has happened to the owner.

> I hope they dont find them permanent homes until it is found out what has happened to the owner.

And have them neutered! I was gobsmacked to watch one of the Battersea programmes once where an entire pedigree male cat, in good condition, was neutered BEFORE starting his 7 day period for the owners to re-claim before he could be put up for re-homing. Can you imagine how cross the owner would be if he was a genuine escapee?

M.

What an awful thing to happen - hope the owner is found safe and ok.

I would like to know where the staff where as no way can one person look after all those dogs. If the kennel owner had difficulties surely the staff members would have known. I can not fathom why everyone would just abandon these beautiful animals.

I hope they can help all the dogs and find the kennel owner soon.

Thats so sad, poor dogs, i hope the found get rehomed and looked after properly, thats sad :(

How awful.  It really does look quite worrying.  Hope it is not due to mental health or even worse.  Hoping that she's still with us. 

I've just looked at the "Wardana" website - it just looks like a very reputable kennel, with a proposed new cattery. There's also a grooming service. Whatever can have happened to this lady and the rest of the staff? Surely someone must know??

Scroll down this page look for the posting on 17th July 2008 & also a previous one on 28th April 2008 !! Not so recent I think

If this post is factually correct, then the KC have some questions to answer!   Did they not set up a scheme to help avoid this sort of situation, when an owner/breeder becomes overwhelmed with the number of dogs that s/he owns/breeds?

There is obviously an awful lot about this that we don't know ...chinese whispers.   In the meantime, there are all these dogs requiring care, and a woman out there somewhere who also needs help :(

OMG! I don't know what to say, but OMG! Those poor poor dogs.  What the owners must have gone through to make the discovery and get them back.  Surely this poor woman's mental health is now a major concern.  I hope they find her soon.

Goodness, how sad for the dogs.  I do hope something can be done to re-home them where they can be taken care of.  Having read a couple of those unsavoury posts on that show link, I wonder if the owner broke down under financial pressures - perhaps any remaining staff walked away when they were not paid, or were unable to continue to cope alone and unpaid?  Maybe it was departing staff who tipped off the authorities?

If the owner has suffered a mental breakdown due to financial difficulties, the breeding stock may well be considered to be assets in any bankruptcy hearing. :(

Anyway, I hope the 98 remaining dogs can be homed, and that the owner turns up safe no matter what her financial position.  I guess she will be held to account once she is well again.  Very sad isn't it.

Having now read the show link, what a pity that the RSPCA weren't tipped off in July - but I suppose the dogs' owner was just so pleased to get them out of the country! Not a very good advert for the UK, is it?

I wondered why no one has questioned keeping 100 Saints...enough work to tip anyone over the edge and with the difficulties in the financial situation, a disaster waiting to happen.

The thing is I suppose the KC don't go around all the time, wonder when they were last there?  What about the local council aren't they supposed to check licenced kennels?  So something has gone wrong there also.  See a dog under her name was shown at Birmingham after the comments in July.  Very strange.

She's listed as an Accredited Breeder in the articles in the general press too, so a knock to the Kennel Club's flagship that they didn't need in the current climate.

M.

She must have had Staff, Lumphy. Her website states: ""All staff hold, or are training for, animal care qualifications. This ensures a very high standard of care for all animals""

Although the website hasn't been updated since 2006...

I am just glad it happened in the cold season and not during a heat wave in the summer...

I thought this too tooolz...to me it seems a hugely excessive number of dogs to keep, and these are giant breeds too! It's a really sad story, I just hope that the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the owner can be solved. Everyone can speculate but only the owner really knows the truth.

In the mean time, my main concern is that these dogs are safe and being looked after properly.

After reading your link Moonmaiden that puts a different spin on things doesn't it, it's certainly not an overnight occurance, looks as though things have been wrong for a while. :-(

I wonder why the other party didn't report this to the RSPCA when they took the dogs back from this lady - or if they did, why didn't the story come to light then ?!

> I wonder why the other party didn't report this to the RSPCA when they took the dogs back from this lady - or if they did, why didn't the story come to light then ?!

Probably because they are not based in the UK(wife was from the Netherlands & now lives with husband in the States. It must have been known about in the St Bernard circles in the US

I've seen reports on the net saying the staff hadn't been paid for 6 weeks and on another forum someone went to view an adult dog but wasn't allowed to see if it got on with the rest of the family first, was told they had to pay there and then and just take the dog with them :( 

Of course this is all speculation but it does sound like this lady just got out of her depth and the poor dogs have been left to suffer the consequences.  I do hope she is alright though, can't imagine the type of pressure that would make someone go off the rails like this, she must have felt that she had no-where to turn.  Very sad all round