Student still in debt two years after buying dying pup from illegal pet trader
A Scots student is still in debt two years on from taking out a bank loan to save a dying pup's life after buying it from an illegal trader.
The animal lover was one of many victims of Julie Taylor, 41, who fronted a sales operation for a criminal gang running a puppy farm.
Like other dogs Taylor sold, schnauser pup Fawn died of parvovirus after a three-day battle for life. But even in that short time the new owner ran up more than £4000 in vet fees.
Taylor, of Stewarton, Ayshire, narrowly avoided jail for running a 'cruel' and 'abhorrent' trade in pups.
But the student victim still mourns the loss of her pup. She said: 'For less than a three-day visit, Fawn's treatment racked up nearly £4000 debt in vet bills.
'It was a £650 asking price for a sick puppy I loved and barely got to see and £100 in deep cleaning fees so other dogs were safe to enter my house.'
She added: 'Not only did Julie Taylor kill that poor, innocent girl – she put me in heaps of debt that continues to grow due to interest rates.'
The Record told last week how Taylor kept tiny pups in a filthy toilet that was covered in faeces, leading to the spread of diseases like giardia and deadly parvo.
Several pups are known to have died, including one bought by police officer Elaine McArthur, whose evidence led to the SSPCA busting Taylor.
The student said Taylor had taken her cash and presented Fawn as the offspring of a family pet.
The victim said she bought the pup after seeing an ad on website Pets4homes. She added: 'About 24 hours later Fawn stopped eating and had diarrhoea.' The pup didn't eat or drink for two days but was violently sick.
The victim said: 'She died in my arms in a cold kennel attached to wires and tubes soiled in her own diarrhoea scared and in pain.'
She said: 'As soon as I saw the Record's story I knew it was Julie Taylor who sold me the pup, even though she used another girl's name on the Pets4Homes account.'
Taylor was banned from keeping animals for 10 years and given a community payback order after pleading guilty to fronting the commercial end of a puppy farm.
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