Staffordshire man saves dog from squalid van filled with 20 other caged Collies

An animal lover has saved a dog from a squalid van which was crammed with 20 other terrified Border Collies.

Peter Davies, 49, adopted 12-year-old Billie after she was saved by the animal rescue charity, RSPCA.

The pooch was the oldest of over a dozen pedigree Collies and a cat kept inside tiny metre-and-a-half-long cages - which were stacked three high - inside a caravan and a van in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.

Their owner, Penelope Garner-Carpenter, 67, was banned from keeping animals for life after being sentenced at Barrow-in-Furness Magistrates Court last month.

Now Billie - whose favourite food is liver pate – has been rehomed alongside all but one of the other animals and is now "thriving".

Peter, from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, said: "I don't know how anyone can treat an animal the way these dogs were.

"I was really shocked and upset when I found out about Billie's story. She suffered immensely.

"But that trauma of her past life doesn't live within her spirit, and that is why I fell in love with her."

Peter - a manager - was introduced to Billie at the RSCPA's Hillfield Animal Home in Burton, in April this year.

He was volunteering after losing his nine-year-old Golden Retriever Wilson, to nose cancer in January this year.

The dog-lover revealed he only found out about Billie's treacherous story each time he took her for a walk.

All of the 22 animals found by the RSPCA were in horrific condition - sadly one Collie was put to sleep on veterinary advice because of continuing ill health.

On July 14 last year, Cumbria Police seized the dogs from the vehicles located in a car park on Walney Road, Barrow-in-Furness, after responding to emergency calls about their wellbeing.

They found 16 female and five male Collies, and a male black and white cat, which were taken to the local police station and the RSPCA.

An investigation was later launched by the RSPCA.

In his written evidence to the court, RSPCA Inspector Carl Larsson, who attended the scene, said the van had a "strong unpleasant smell of urine and faeces".

He also mentioned dogs were being fed "raw chicken thighs" and had very little "natural light" and "ventilation" inside the van and they would have suffered from the "extreme heat" from the summer sun.

Mr Larsson also said the caravan was in a similar disgusting condition, with horrid images showing the messy home covered in rubbish and dog faeces.

A vet examined all the dogs at the police station and later said in a satement to the court that the "environment" the animals were in was "extremely stressful" and would have caused "suffering". She also said that it was "easily preventable".

A vet who performed check-ups on the dogs said all of the dogs were suffering from hunger "for months" and ten were emaciated which caused them to become anaemic.

The cat was reported as being "extremely stressed".

They were also stained in faeces and urine more than 24 hours old, and some had pressure sores on their bodies, diarrhoea, and matted fur.

Billie was kept inside a cage with another pup called Kenzie who were taken to Hillfield Animal Centre after being nursed up to good health again.

Peter said he "fell in love" with Billie due to her "calm and easy-going demeanour".

He said: "I volunteered on Saturdays and Sundays for dog walking. I was given a new dog each time.

"But I was always happy to be given Billie. She was a bit slow and would ponder while walking, but she was so loving and friendly.

"She also has ailments like arthritis in her back legs, I felt a little bit sorry for her really. She was just an old lady who needed some love."

Peter said after finding out about Billie's story and said it gave him more of a reason to adopt her.

He said: "I was just planning to get a puppy to raise, but part of me wanted to take Billie home and give her a nice place to live out the rest of her days."

Peter approached the charity to first foster her in June.

And then after a successful foster period, he officially adopted the ageing canine on July 25 this year.

He said: "I am chuffed I get to give her a safe place to live out the rest of her days in peace and tranquillity.

"Billie is doing great. Her favourite thing to do is either the morning walk or lie on a duvet and wriggle around with her legs in the air."

He has urged other dog-lovers to adopt a dog, saying it is "very fulfilling" to give a dog a second chance.

Garner-Carpenter, now of Hatfield Woodhouse, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire., was handed a 22-week concurrent custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, for three animal welfare offences, after being sentenced on September 25.

In her interview with the RSPCA, Garner-Carpenter, said she acknowledged the van was not a suitable way to keep them but said it was only a short-term solution as she had been evicted.

In mitigation, the court heard the defendant denied the offences and said she was suffering from old age and poor health.

The RSPCA’s network of branch-run centres in Southport, Blackpool, Manchester, Burton-on-Trent, Radcliffe-on-Trent and York, together with Animal Rescue Cumbria, successfully rehomed 20 of the dogs and the cat from the case.

Speaking after sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Will Lamping, who led the investigation, said: “Keeping so many dogs in crates in these conditions was totally unacceptable."