so I went to see some pups today and it was awful :-(

[AllergicToNutters]

They were living in rank cages outside on concrete floors. The smell was horrid. There was Dad and a Portuguese pointer in a cage, Mum was sooo skinny and looked as if she had been bred and bred. The pups looked healthy enough but the one remaining pup ( so I had no choice in selecting one for us) was shaking and whimpering. He was absolutely beautiful but I didn't take him. I felt awful. The pups were kept in a shed away from the other dogs and Mum. They were clearly not 'indoor' dogs. Very sad and don;t know what I can do.....

Fenwick has been adopted I think.

There was a gorgeous GSD on MT a few weeks ago - she was just a bit young for what we are looking for.

And poor Tina the Weimaraner :(

Holly, your poor puppy! Glad it is ok, now, lucky to have you as its owner. That was one expensive bottle of wine though, lol!

Midori, good to know that. We do it once a day because there are so many pups. Each one drinks approximately half to two thirds a bottle of the mix. They all look like baby seals now. We were thinking of starting them on semi solids next week (over three weeks old by then). Is that too early? Mum is pretty good about feeding and I don't want to discourage that at all.

swalowedAfly - I bourght a s/h leather sofa at the weekend too! it is quite low and our poorly dog can't climb onto the other one at the moment.

Fenwick has indeed been reserved now. I hope he finds a happy, loving home.

higgle you've made me feel a little better about my madness hope poorly dog likes it. tbf the sofa didn't cost much more than the bloody dog bed did so it's a bargain really.

I can't remember whether it was this thread it was mentioned about the perils of offering dogs free of charge (which Flatbread believes all breeders should do) including the risk of dogs being acquired for dog fighting bait. As I recall, Flatbread dismissed this as apocryphal and scaremongering. If only.

I can't link from my phone but if you look for Causeway Coast Dog Rescue on Facebook you'll see the tale of Jenson the Staffy. Offered free to good home through Gumtree and found dead 13 hours later with injuries consistent with dog fighting :( Horrific. No animal deserves to die like that.

Yes, it was me that was dismissed as being "apocryphal and scaremongering". I wish. The lurcher I have been working with recently has injuries and mutilations that are consistent with dog fighting.

It isn't just dog fighting either. Some unsavoury characters who use greys/lurchers for coursing often test them on live quarry as part of the training. I don't really need to say any more.

I know that you should never give chickens/cockerels away for free as they get used as cock fighting/dog bait. When you think about it, no animal should just be given away. It makes life far too cheap.

why would anyone offer a dog on Gumtree.
The good greedy people who run Gumtree should stop listings of animals.

Have you seen the Lurcher Rescue website I want to win the lottery so I can adopt at least 5 all of them.