Woman who sold sick puppies to animal lovers has been jailed for 18 weeks

Julie Ward, 36, formerly of Douglas Road, Leigh, was found guilty of a series of animal welfare offences in her absence at court in August 2016 after a string of animal welfare offences relating to the sale of puppies in Greater Manchester.

The puppies were being sold from the Douglas Road address and another property nearby in Windermere Road.

As Ward didn’t turn up for the court hearing, a warrant was issued for her arrest.

She was finally tracked down to a home in Slapton Road, Leighton Buzzard, and was brought before Wigan magistrates.

She was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail for six charges including selling a puppy at a young age and causing the unnecessary suffering of puppies.

The RSPCA launched an investigation after receiving a number of complaints from members of the public who had purchased puppies that had soon fallen ill after arriving home.

Four of the pets had either suddenly died or were so ill the vets had to put them to sleep to end their suffering.

Inspector Pippa Boyd, who led the case, said: “We believe Ward, and two other people who were part of the operation and have been dealt with by the courts previously, were importing puppies and then selling them on from two addresses in Leigh.

“When we joined police to execute two warrants at the properties in February 2016 we found a number of dogs and other evidence.

“At one address - in Windermere Road - we found a number of phones labelled with different dog breeds.

“At the other - in Douglas Road - we found three dogs, one with an untreated broken pelvis, and the body of a dead Jack Russell terrier left in a kennel.”

Ward has also been disqualified from keeping all animals for 10 years and ordered to pay a £150 victim surcharge.

The RSPCA would always advise people looking at taking on a puppy about the importance of doing research and using the ‘Puppy Contract’. But would urge anyone thinking of getting a dog to first consider rescuing a dog from the RSPCA.

Find out more information about buying a puppy here. The Puppy Contract can be downloaded for free from www.puppycontract.org.uk