A puppy farming gang who flogged sick and dying dogs and stored dead spaniels in their freezer, have been jailed.
The group of illegal puppy traders profited £850,000, advertising dogs as ‘bred at home’ when they were actually taken from unlicensed puppy farms in Swindon and Wales.
Dogs they sold often quickly fell ill, or even died, leaving the heartbroken families with huge vets bills as well.
One of the sellers, Stacey Hayward, had already had her licence to sell puppies revoked in 2018 after so many of the dogs in her care fell ill.
The other three who flogged the dying puppies were Kelly and Ricky Bennett and Steven Foster, 42.
At least 100 adverts of around 500 puppies they sold were placed between December 2018 and March 2020 on Gumtree, Preloved and Pets4Home.
The RSPCA were alerted to the criminal behaviour by the affected families.
One family paid £750 for their puppy only to have it die following £2,000 of vet treatment.
After complaints, warrants were issued to search the property the four illegal puppy traders shared.
At the property in West Thurrock, Essex, officers found nine puppies in a shed at the back fo the garden and all of them were taken into care.
Then, only two miles away at the Bennett’s address in Grays, Essex, officers found a further eight dogs and two dead spaniels who had been dumped in the freezer.
One of the rescued puppies tested positive for parvovirus and tragically died but the rest thankfully made full recoveries and found new homes.
Tracey Bridgemen, from London, was one of the many victims of the fraudsters after finding an ad on Pets4Home and spending £750 on a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel pup called Joey.
Just two days later, Joey was at the vets on a drip with suspected distemper and pneumonia, and he would later tragically die.
Tracey Bridgeman said: "He was having fits and then, just a week after we collected him, he had two cardiac arrests and died.
"We'd only had him a short time but we'd already grown so attached. We visited him every day at the hospital and we'd hoped he would pull through. We were all utterly heartbroken when he died."
The devastated family were then slapped with a £2,000 vets bill.
Speaking following the court hearing, Inspector Vikki Dawe - from the RSPCA's Special Operations Unit - said: "The heartbreaking reality of puppy farming is that the welfare of the puppies comes second to making money.
"The sums of money involved are just eye-watering; and it's another reminder of how unscrupulous this trade can be and how dangerous poor breeding and trading practices are for dogs, pups and unsuspecting consumers.
"For anyone looking to buy a puppy, rather than adopt - we urge them to do their research, know the signs of an unscrupulous breeder and use tools such as the Puppy Contract to avoid becoming another victim of the puppy trade."
Three of the gang were jailed for a total of 11 years at Basildon Crown Court.
Each entered guilty pleas - two for fraud and one to acquiring criminal property.
Kelly Bennett, 44, also indicated a guilty plea to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act and Ricky Bennett, 42, pleaded guilty to one.
Kelly Bennett, was sentenced to four years and one month behind bars and a 10 year ban on keeping animals.
Hayward, 41, was sentenced to three years and 11 months in jail and Ricky Bennett was sentenced to three years and given a 10 year ban.
Meanwhile Steven Foster's sentencing has been adjourned until 10 November.
Wilf was 10 weeks old when he was rescued from the puppy ring, and his new owner and RSPCA fosterer Jane in West Sussex described his new happy life.
She said: "Wilf was scared of all noises and he had no doggy etiquette and didn't know how to play nicely with other dogs.
"Despite his early challenges, he became available for rehoming on my birthday and so it was obvious that he'd be staying.
"Thanks to his best friend, Poppy the Jack Russell, he's overcome his fears and is now a wonderful, cheeky chap.
"He loves his cuddly toys and is always carrying one around the house, and he loves to go for long walks in the countryside."
