Animal inspectors were heartbroken to find nearly a hundred suffering dogs in a single house. The RSPCA has now launched one of the biggest rehoming campaigns ever in a bid to find these puppies loving homes.
More than 90 malnourished Shih-Tzu dogs were rescued from a filthy breeding house.
The dogs were living in horrendous conditions and needed urgent vet care.
They were split and distributed to the RSPCA centres in southern England and are now in need of loving homes.
Neglected and abused
The RSPCA is looking to re-home a record number of Shih-Tzus dogs and their puppies after they were found neglected in a breeding house in Torquay, Devon, England last year.
Upon discovery, the animals were malnourished and infested with fleas and worms. They were living in filthy conditions and covered in faeces.
This is Chips. He’s one of 96 Shih-Tzus that were removed from a home in Torquay which was breeding dogs in poor conditions. Image Credit: BBC.
The charity has launched an appeal to find loving owners for the original 96 of the breed, along with around 50 puppies that have been born since.
According to its spokesperson Sammy Howard, the RSPCA discovered the dogs as a result of a noise complaint by a resident nearby.
Nearly 150 dogs need caring owners
Although 96 pups were rescued and taken to different RSPCA branches for rehabilitation, there are now around 150 of them as many were pregnant at that time.
The Cornwall branch alone is now looking to re-home 13 of them. According to the staff, many pets came to the shelter fearful as a result of their difficult start to life, so new owners must be patient and support the dogs as they go through training and socialisation.
Matted with faeces, flea-infested, urine stained and terrified, this is the result of over-breeding. Image Credit: RSPCA Cornwall Branch.
Sammy added:
They have had a difficult start to life and will not just slot into a home, and be grateful that someone took them on.
According to her, the dogs will be terrified and may take months before they start trusting people’, which is a ‘hard sell’ when asking for someone to welcome a dog into their home.
But the charity assures they ‘won’t give up hope that there are people out there for these dogs.’