15 hours ago
Victims of illegal puppy trader open up on heartbreak of desperate attempt to save dogs
New owners fell in love with defenceless pups and were immediately faced with a desperate fight for life - and huge vet bills.
Victims of illegal puppy trader Julie Taylor have told how they battled to save the lives of their tiny dogs.
The dog owners have spoken out after the SSPCA's Special Investigations Unit busted Taylor, who was running an unlicensed 'puppy shop' from a filthy home in Ayrshire.
The Daily Record told yesterday how Taylor was branded 'cruel and abhorrent' and banned from keeping animals for ten years as she was nailed in court.
We told how one dog died, leading the new owner - an off duty police officer - to call in the animal charity's SIU to bring Taylor to justice.
Another dog lover to have a nightmare ordeal due to the appalling conditions Taylor was subjecting pups to was Gillian Linton, 35, from Clydebank.
The civil servant told how she instantly fell in love with a tiny Spaniel she called Primrose.
She ended up paying more than £2,000 in vet bills after forming a powerful bond with the tiny pup, which almost died but eventually pulled through.
Gillian, who bought Primrose at Taylor's home in Stewarton on Christmas Eve, 2023, said: 'We were meant to be getting a Blenheim Spaniel but the pup turned out to be a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
'When she was presented to us she was stinking and her tummy was distended. She was in a bad way. Julie said she had just been fed but alarm bells were ringing loudly.
'The wee dog dropped flat on the floor and started crawling along in a strange way. She was lost and distressed.
'I picked her up and she snuggled into my neck and I was probably committed to her from that point, with no way of going back because I just couldn't leave her there.
'I had to rescue her - and I can't help but wonder how many other dog lovers felt the same way with other pups.
Gillian transferred £795 to Taylor on the spot.
She said: 'I asked to use the bathroom upstairs and I could see the house wasn't normal, with big piles of stuff in rooms and flooring had been ripped up. I guessed it had just been transformed by the puppy farm trade that was going on.
'As soon as we got Primrose home she started to cough and she would stop breathing for a but then produce a hacking cough that was awful to watch.
'She was really ill and we thought she was going to die.'
Gillian said she had to take Primrose to the vet on New Year's Day because she thought the pup would die otherwise.
She said: 'She was full of worms and her ears were infected and foul smelling. She was a poor wee soul. '
Gillian added: 'Primrose is 18 months old and really good now - but that's a miracle after the start she had in life.
'To think that people have been mistreating defenceless pups so badly for quick cash makes me feel very sad and it's good that the SSPCA shut these people down.'
Eleanor Sullivan, 66, also said she immediately felt a duty to rescue the Cavapoo pup - which she called Jax - due to its pitiful condition when shown it.
Former school worker Eleanor, from Cumbernauld, said: 'Jax was a bit of a sorry state, with terrible ear mites and a cough but I had to rescue this defenceless animal.
'I had a dog cage at the bottom of my bed but when I locked the door the pup went mad, throwing himself at the cage door.'
Eleanor said the dog looked 'lost' and behaved like it had never interacted with humans before.
She said: 'It was shaking and looked terrified. It was obvious from the start that the pups weren't right and Jax looked a lot younger than the eight weeks Julie said she was.
'I also discovered that different adverts were appearing online, supposedly selling the same dogs but with different phone numbers. I think it was just a conveyor belt of pups.
'These people rely on people like me forming an instant attachment. They shouldn't be allowed to have anything to do with animals.'
The Record told yesterday how PC Elaine McArthur's cockapoo pup Marley fought for life then died of deadly parvo virus, three days after leaving Taylor's home.
Distraught mum Elaine turned the tables on Taylor by calling in SSPCA investigators, who raided the trader's home and shut the operation down.
Taylor, 41, was caught red handed with 16 terrified dogs, of various breeds, being held in a filthy toilet and covered in dog waste.
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Taylor admitted cruelty and operating without a licence, which saw her banned from keeping dogs for 10 years at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.
Taylor's defence lawyer Graeme Cunningham said he could not deny that she was the front of an 'abhorrent' puppy farm operation, where dogs were badly treated then sold on for large amounts of cash.
Taylor was also given a Community Payback Order to include unpaid work of 240 hours.
She will also face a Proceeds of Crime investigation and could have thousands of pounds clawed back.
