............but only for three years! It should have been life. These disgusting specimens of humanity had shown dogs at championship level. http://www.scottishspca.org/news/1389_mother-and-daughter-dog-ban

Unbelieveable...those poor dogs. That  was once a very famous kennel producing very lovely toy poodles and french bulldogs .How on earth  did they get into that state? The  owner also judges,and has won many awards. I can't understand how things can get so bad,especially as there is also a daughter running the kennel with her mother it says. I do hope they don't get the dogs back.

Am appalled but sorry to say that this is all too an common occurrence for me to be surprised. So what that these ladies are 'top' breeders , competing and judging at championship level. They have allowed their greed and ambition for accolades to take precedence over the needs and welfare of the helpless dogs in their care. Who chooses such people to be judges? Surely checks and balances in the Show World should be in place to ensure that this level of cruelty and neglect is not part of their modus operandi . The conditions pictured are no worse than those described to me by people who have come to me for a puppy having visited such breeding premises. I have been told of walls covered in rosettes but dogs stacked in 'lobster pots' ( medium/large pastoral breeds !) and air so foetid it was difficult to breathe. And these were ABS breeders ,also judging at at a high level in the breed.

I hear from a group I'm in that it must of all went wrong when the husband / father passed away. He was supposed to be a lovely man .
I too think they should have a lifetime ban , infact I would lock them in a tiny place with no water and let them lie in their own dirt like they inflicted on their dogs  , poor little souls , I hope they get lovely homes now  , I'm fuming Grrrr

That makes me really cross.  There is no excuse for keeping dogs in such disgusting conditions.  I don't accept that it was too much work for them.  I have more dogs than that, and they all have lovely clean duvets.  And an abundance of water stations in this heat! And I cope alone, so it can be done.

With thanks to my dog sitter when I take a break down at the caravan.  :-)

Just horrific :(

A google of their affix brings up these two pages which I thought interesting.

Firstly a page advertising the kennel 'I will sell all players, and all I require is that if you decide to leave the game that you offer me the opportunity to buy back first' :(

and the second a link to a petition for them to get their dogs back, signed by 212 misguided individuals, I wonder how they feel now photos have been published? 

chaumsong that is a game website not real breeders. People have used photos of my dogs on there and they can put any names on.

I have seen this happen in my breed!  As we get older we just cannot do what we could do 20 years before.  The wisdom is recognising this and either cutting down on the number of dogs that you keep or bringing in help to let you keep them in good condition.  But not everyone has that wisdom and they think that they can carry on doing what they've always done and fail, thinking that they'll sort it out next week and never can - and then the dogs pay the price. :(

I hear from a group I'm in that it must of all went wrong when the husband / father passed away. He was supposed to be a lovely man .

It's entirely possible that the passing of the husband/father triggered depression as well as grief.     Unfortunately people with depression are often incapable of coping with even normal every day life despite outward appearances.    They can also be incapable of recognising that they aren't coping and therefore of asking for help.   If family and friends don't recognise the signs, then they won't get the help they need :-(

In this case the dogs paid the price.

Not suggesting this is an excuse for allowing these dogs to live in such appalling conditions, but a possible explanation of why things got so bad :-(

Personally, I think keeping smaller breeds in confined spaces is an appalling practice, all breeds of dog should have ample space to run about if they wish, and smaller breeds seem to be much more active/busy than larger breeds in the home and actually need more space than their size would suggest.

chaumsong that is a game website not real breeders. People have used photos of my dogs on there and they can put any names on.
...if that link is real or not, the whole real life situation is almost surreal IMO...I am so against crating a dog.I spent two years in USA and the dreaded crate was the norm ,  their mentality?......."twelve hours,no problem...your dog will think its like a den."  Just Imagine the despair of those crated dogs living day after dayin that filth,the stench overpowering them,the confines of the crate making them desperate to stretch out and move.
I've never crated a dog in my life nor ever will....the idea of keeping these dogs like battery hens ,never cleaning them out sickens me to the stomach.Poodles are my breed and the photo shows a dog with at least a years matted neglect....they should be banned for life from keeping a dog,given the state of the animals.Even if she was depressed,in uk there are so many good rescues that help is just a step away.No excuses !

the whole real life situation is almost surreal IMO...I am so against crating a dog.I spent two years in USA and the dreaded crate was the norm ,  their mentality?......."twelve hours,no problem...your dog will think its like a den."

I agree to a large extent, but not fully. It is far too easy for people to keep too many small dogs in cages. Far too many do it. Far too easy to just forget about the dogs. Like people do with small animals. And I have never used a cage for a big dog, and never will. At home in Sweden it is ILLEGAL to use cages for dogs, if it is more than the odd hour -and no more than one hour. It cannot be one hour EVERY day, and it cannot be all night! That is a bit over the top, but I suppose it's a case of stopping those that cannot be trusted not to abuse the cages. I use cages for my toydogs. They sleep in them at night. Either we go to bed at about 11 pm and they get let out for a wee at 4 am, or we go to bed after midnight and they get let out whenever they ask -which they do. That's usually around 6.30 am. So 5-6 hours per night. During the day the cages are open and the dogs can come and go. If it has rained heavily we lock them in their cages when they have been out, for just a few minutes until their paws have dried. If we have visitors that want to drink a cup of tea or coffee without dogs around, they may go in their cages for a few minutes. But that's it. I have a bitch that had been caged pretty much 24/7 -she wasn't mainly white when I got her, she was mainly yellow. Obvious why. The coat was so stained it didn't turn white until new coat grew out.

I had quite severe depression and at no point did or, or could I inflict pain and suffering on a living creature like these monsters did.
If it got too much for them to care for their dogs then there are many ptions for them, they did not need to leave those animals in that state.

3 years is an absolute joke. and what about the cost of the rescue?rehab?court case??!! They should be made to pay back every penny

> I had quite severe depression and at no point did or, or could I inflict pain and suffering on a living creature

Sorry - I don't think that that follows :( My mother had very severe depression on and off for many years. When she had it she was quite capable of neglecting herself (personal hygiene/eating etc) - if she could get herself into this state (she didn't because we made sure that she didn't, she was at other times a very clean, tidy, conscientious person) why wouldn't she also be unable to care for animals ??

(Not that I am condoning the behaviour of these people as, if they had mental health issues, I am sure these would have been put down as mitigating circumstances at the trial)

Sorry but I do think it follows so we will have to agree to disagree.
Being depressed doesn't mean you are capable of animal cruelty to the extent these vile humans did. Yes, perhaps it was hard losing her husband but that is no excuse for what they put those animals through.
When I was depressed I couldnt look after myself at all. Didnt want to live and could barely get out of bed some days but I could never have done what those women did to inflict such suffering on those animals
In my an opinion you are either a person capable of committing acts of cruelty or you're not...its something you can dip in and out of and depression is no excuse (not that any reasons or excuses have been mentioned in the article)

I think, though extreme, this case is an example of what can go wrong when the practice of keeping dogs in cages is accepted as okay and normal. I have been appalled on discovering top class breeders/ show judges who keep small dogs stacked in cages, perhaps letting them out in relays, and thinking this is perfectly okay-- they must think it is okay to allow vistors to see it. And not just small dogs-- I remember a  pointer judge telling me they had taken a bitch back from a pet home following a bereavement and she was so petted they couldn't put her in the kennels so were keeping her in the house-- he was asking for help re-homing her, which was fine. When I went to visit the bitch their idea of "keeping her in the house" was a bare cage without even a blanket. They were quite open about it, as others with small dogs stacked in cages have been on similar visits. Obviously, in all these cases the dogs were clean annd well fed, but if this is regarded as okay it is a much smaller step than anyone would think to get to the state of this case. There was a similar case of neglect with a show breeder/judge of wire haired fox terriers a few years ago and the pictures were appalling. Dogs in carrying cases stacked on top of each other, and some even in dark wooden boxes with ventilation holes but no light. She didn't think she was doing anything wrong!
In my opinion depression or grief are no excuse for what these two women in this case have done-- they are clearly used to leaving these poor dogs in cages to live their lives and have always done so, but in better times have had to make the effort to keep them presentable to take to shows.