Puppies found surrounded by faeces and suffering from 'chronic diarrhoea' at 'squalid' farm

A woman from Clydebank who kept more than 20 dogs and puppies in squalid conditions has been banned from keeping dogs for three years.

Several dogs belonging to Jamie-Lee Harper, 36, were found matted and dirty and left to sleep on concrete floors in damp bedding surrounded by faeces inside stables and farm outhouses.

Others showed evidence of parasitic infection, ill-health and dental decay.

Inspectors from the Scottish SPCA made the discovery during an inspection at Acre Farm in Glenboig, Lanarkshire, in November 2022.

They found a total of 22 dogs roaming free on the site. The youngest puppies were four or five weeks old.

The dogs were discovered in stables and sheds as well as an open kennel area.

Dogs and puppies were left to sleep on damp towels SSPCA

In one shed, which housed three dogs, the bedding was insufficient, with three blankets found damp and soaked with urine.

A litter of six cocker spaniel puppies, around ten weeks old, were also found alongside two water bowls contaminated with faeces and wood shavings.

They later tested positive for Giardia, a parasitic disease associated with chronic and acute diarrhoea in dogs.

A Great Dane and her four to five-week-old puppies were being kept in a barren, cold environment with no bedding or blankets

Two female Akitas were found; one of them was limping and in pain, suffering from patchy fur loss.

Attending vets reported: “The general conditions of the farm were not suitable for keeping large numbers of dogs. The barns were cold, dark, barren and in many instances unsanitary.

“Rats were observed running around the stables which had insufficient bedding and what bedding was available was either saturated with urine or chewed up. Floors were coated in urine, faeces and wood shavings.”

A Scottish SPCA Inspector said: “In addition to finding many dogs in poor condition, a number of horses and ponies were found at the property.

“All horses appeared to be in reasonable condition, and it was found that owners of the horses paid a livery to keep them at the farm.”

All the dogs were examined and removed to a Scottish SPCA Rescue and Rehoming Centre for ongoing care.

Many of the surviving dogs in this case have gone on to be rehomed with loving families.

Jamie-Lee Harper appeared at Airdrie Sheriff Court SSPCA

Harper appeared at Airdrie Sheriff Court, where she was given a Community Payback Order and ordered to perform 100 hours of unpaid work.

The 36-year-old was also given a six-month Restriction of Liberty Order, banned from keeping dogs for three years and fined £1,975.

A Scottish SPCA Inspector added: “We are pleased with the outcome and the court’s decision. This case is a step in the right direction for animal welfare in Scotland.”

Andrew Laing, procurator fiscal for South Strathclyde, said: “Jamie-Lee Harper demonstrated an appalling disregard for the well-being of animals in her care

“The conditions that many of the dogs were being kept in were shocking.

“This was a case of indiscriminate neglect where animals were subjected to unnecessary suffering.

“We take this type of offending very seriously, and we will always prosecute where there is a sufficiency of evidence, and it is in the public interest to do so.”