'Fighting for Nala'

Friday 23 August 2019

A local dog-owner is campaigning for stricter animal welfare laws, alongside her puppy, Nala, who she claims came from a puppy farmer in Guernsey,

The owner, who does not want to be named, bought Nala for £800 at just eight weeks old.

Two weeks later, Nala is already suffering with a number of health issues and needs regular vet visits.

Her owner decided to take a puppy on after visiting the local breeder.

"I'd heard on the grapevine that this lady had bred again and I wanted to see for myself what it was like," she said. "Nala was the smallest of the litter at the time. They didn't look very well and when the mum came in I was like 'oh my gosh, this dog is so old'. She had grey on her face. It was awful to see her. She was seven-years-old."

Pictured: Nala the puppy at her new home.

When the owner went back the second time, she said the pups had been moved from the lounge to the conservatory, and there were plans for them to be moved again into a run that was being built outside.

"The next time they were moved to this stable with some paper on the floor. There was this grotty old kennel - I wouldn't even let a hedgehog sleep in it - and there were flies everywhere. They all ate from this one baking tray and she said she was giving them goats milk.

"She opened the door and let all of the puppies out. She told me 'I don't vax [vaccinate]' and I didn't even question her, I just wanted to get that puppy out."

When the owner picked Nala up, she was "crawling with fleas" as well as other parasites.

"She just collapsed in my arms and I knew something was wrong so I rushed her to the vet," she explained. "They found she was low on red blood cells and, we can't know for sure, but we put it down to parasite infections."

Nala is now ten weeks old and is still on the road to recovery.

"I'm just going to fight for her now," her owner continued. "I want a law brought in to the island. It's not just for Nala, it's for all animals.

Pictured: Nala the puppy at her new home.

"We've got petitions being drawn up and we're in discussions about doing a protest walk when it's cooler. I've spoken to the States Vet and have given him photos.

We're going to do everything possible. We can't be having animals being treated like this and it must be her sixth litter. It's disgusting, it's all about the money and I know the puppies were sick."

Nala's owner is now asking for anyone who wants to support the campaign to join the Facebook page 'Fighting for Nala' and do whatever they can to raise awareness.

"I’m not backing down," she said. "These dogs haven't got voices. We need to be their voice and we need to stop."

Pictured top: Nala.