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Puppy Factories:

The real cost of that doggy in the window.

As Assistant Chief Inspector with RSPCA Qld, I can’t expect you to understand the severity or magnitude of the cruelty of these puppy factories any more than I understand the absence of empathy of the operators who run them.

I can, however, help you to understand the costs incurred by RSPCA Qld following a raid. To do this, I will need to take you back with me to 31 July 2008 in Townsville — a day and rescue that had significant impact on RSPCA Qld, and still does almost two years later.

My first impression was one of shock — the residence was an insulated metal shed with two large roller doors. Upon entry we were met with a moving sea of around 30 barking dogs. The noise was deafening. Most were too fearful of human contact to allow a gentle pat. The stench of built-up urine and stale faeces was so violent that I involuntarily gagged.

Upon finding my balance after slipping on the damp concrete floor strewn with excrement and dog fur, I shone my torch on to cages stacked up to three and four high. Each cage contained mothers with pups, so crammed they barely had room to stretch.

Some cages had no water and those that did were contaminated with excrement. Some of the cages had no bedding and, in those that did, the towels for the most part were wet, damp and heavily soiled.

And then there were the rats — all 488 of them, excluding dead rats and parents. When offered water, they scurried to the bowl with such panic, and commenced drinking with such gusto, that it is an image that I will always remember.

We seized 113 dogs, 488 rats, 73 mice, 11 birds and one cat. What followed were months of veterinary and dental examinations, medical treatments, surgeries, bathing to remove cakes of faecal matter and grooming to remove clumps of matted hair.

The operators were found guilty of 129 counts of animal neglect and ordered to pay around $50,000 compensation to RSPCA Qld, despite the real costs claim to court exceeding $260,000.

Almost two years since the raid, RSPCA Qld is still suffering the real cost of the Townsville puppy factory. This cost, combined with $23.9 million in operational costs and the expectation of more raids to come, has placed RSPCA Qld in a precarious position as we try to manage our operational costs with the extraordinary costs of puppy factories.

By making a tax-deductible donation to RSPCA Qld’s Puppy Factory Appeal you can help to make a real difference to the real cost of that doggy in the window whilst supporting RSPCA Qld’s ongoing work to close down these factories and to prosecute their operators.

To make your tax-deductible donation to RSPCA Qld’s Puppy Factory Appeal, please make your donation online here, or call (07) 3426 9999, (07) 3426 9914 or (07) 3426 9990, or download the form here and return by mail or fax.

Sadly, these 113 dogs were not our first mass raid and they will not be the last. So please, make your donation today and rescue us, so that we can rescue them all.

Sincerely