THE MOMENT an RSPCA inspector is reunited with two dogs she saved from a Solihull puppy farm has been captured as part of a television documentary.
RSPCA inspector Herchy Boal led an investigation into puppy farmers just days before Christmas in 2015 where she found 37 dogs living in appalling conditions – nine of which were pregnant.
Inspector Boal was reunited with two of the 64 dogs she helped rescued for the new channel five series The Dog Rescuers.
She said: “When you start a multiple puppy farm warrant and know it’s going to end up taking over your life, you can only dream of this moment. It just makes the whole thing worthwhile for me, you can just see how much Tom and Jack adore them.
“They’re having an absolutely great life, it’s what they deserve.
“Puppy farming is a huge problem, it’s become increasingly big with the internet. It’s become an actual business.
“These are not pet dogs, they’re literally just being farmed, they’re used for breeding.”
She launched her investigation after being contacted by a number of people who’d bought puppies which had fallen seriously ill and, in some cases, died.
One of those who contacted her was Tom Mather, who bought two of the puppies from the farm.
He said: “We found these Westie pups for sale, it was fairly local. I contacted them and, in a couple of days, I went round to see them. And I came home with two dogs.
“They were sick on the way home but I just put that down to them being recent wormed.. And being unsettled away from their mum. But they were constantly being sick and had diarrhoea.”
After multiple trips to the vet Tom was given the bad news – both pups, Ben and Max, had tested positive for parvovirus and were put to sleep.
Tom became a witness in the RSPCA’s case against the sellers he’d bought his dogs from and, after 64 dogs were rescued, Inspector Boal asked if he’d help foster two of the puppies that had been born in the charity’s care.
Tom said: “So we’ve got Archie and George, both have just turned two-years-old. Their mothers were rescued from the original puppy farm case and these two were born in RSPCA care about a month after the raid on the farm.
“Archie’s very inquisitive, always into everything. When he sleeps it’s always with one eye open and one ear pinged up. But George is just like a lizard, he’ll lie down and spark out and be asleep for hours.
“It’s a relief knowing these guys have got a good lifestyle now, compared to what they potentially could have had. They’ve landed on their four little paws, both of them.”
