50 Thai dogs saved from puppy mill owned by American man
Watchdog Thailand a non-profit organization has saved 50 Thai Ridgeback dogs from a puppy mill owned by an American man. Most of the dogs are found in terrible conditions and many have died from the same illnesses and starvation. The owner states that the dogs are kept as pets and he was not breeding them for sale but history shows otherwise. Watchdog representatives went to the Sarapee Police Station in Chiang Mai on 2 July 2020 to file a report with charges related to animal cruelty against a 73-year-old American man.
The American has been breeding Thai Ridgeback dogs to sell and export to buyers abroad. The owner himself contacted Watchdog asking for help claiming that he has become ill and can no longer take care of his pets consisting of over 50 dogs. Watchdog went to inspect the location and discovered that the dogs were living in an extremely unhygienic environment. Most of the dogs had scabies and were starving. Watchdog claims that many were left to die with no empathy. Watchdog Thailand contacted the police and the Chiang Mai Department of Livestock Development (DLD) on 1 July 2020.
Representatives went to rescue the dogs and moved them to the Save Elephant Foundation in Mae Rim. The man would not give up 5 dogs that were still healthy. The foundation disagreed with his demands as they believed the man lacks the ability to take care of the dogs. History also shows he has been involved in animal cruelty to his own pets many times. Watchdog realized that they needed police involvement in the case to help save the remaining 5 dogs.
The man lives alone and is currently ill. He asked for help from a foreign volunteer at Watchdog who then passed the information to the organization. Watchdog went to where the dogs lived and saw that dog cages were stacked on top of each other. They had no space to play and exercise. The dog’s waste was everywhere, most of them were very ill and starving. Dogs were still left where they died, instead of getting buried.
Animal lovers abroad have given information on the man stating that he has a past in animal cruelty and dogs were harmed or left to die after they served no purpose. He has been selling dogs at a very high price tag without any proper license to breed dogs. Watchdog wants to bring all the dogs into their care, the Chaing Mai DLD agrees that this man cannot take responsibility for his dogs. The man claims that he contacted Watchdog for help and he has never bred dogs for sale but they kept on having puppies. He has also filed a report with the police claiming that Watchdog stole his dogs.
FB Caption: The man asked Watchdog to help take care of his Thai Ridgeback dogs, the organization discovered they were sick, starving, and living in extreme conditions.
Source: Sanook, Watchdog Thailand
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