East

It bound Loretta Bastin, and those acting for her, not to sell puppies that are of an unsatisfactory quality.

Yet puppies from her premises continue to be found to suffer from a range of problems including the lethal and highly infectious parvo virus.

Exposed in 1995

The business,  which trades as Dobe Farm and on line as "Hot Dog Kennels"  still holds a full pet shop licence granted by the local council. 

Puppies with problems including parvo virus

Problems at Dobe Farm were first exposed by BBC East in 1995. 

Puppies were being sold with false pedigree certificates, and with vaccinations certificates that vets say were worthless.

Essex Trading Standards took Ms Bastin to court five years ago using the Sale of Goods act, which had never been used in a case of this kind before, in an attempt to stop her trading in sick animals.

Trade continued

However, complaints about Dobe Farm haven’t stopped.

Emma Berham from Chingford bought a puppy from Loretta Bastin in 2007, but  'Jess' fell ill almost immediately:

"We took her to the vet straight away as an emergency. He said that she had a serious heart defect.

"Buying Jess was like buying a car with no engine and she should never have been sold in that condition" said Ms Berham.

Vanessa McNeice also bought a puppy from Dobe Farm in September 2008.

She quickly found herself at the vets. The dog had ear mites, worms and the deadly parvo virus. 

"Then they said he had septicaemia and all his organs were shutting down and they gave him blood transfusions, plasma and the poor little mite he just didn’t stand a chance."

Both women were refunded the cost of the puppy by Ms Bastin, but were left with hefty vets bills and the upset of losing their pets. 

The dog our undercover buyers bought

Undercover buyers

In December 2008, posing as buyers, undercover researchers returned to Dobe Farm which also advertises online as Hot Dog Kennels.

They purchased a Pug/Cavalier King Charles-cross puppy, which we called Sinead. 

The pup was immediately examined by a vet from the dog welfare charity, The Dogs Trust, and found to be suffering from ear mites and a misshapen jaw that is likely to cause it difficulties feeding.

"You do tend to get undershot jaws in Pugs and Cavaliers but this is really quite excessive," said Dogs Trust vet Chris Laurence.

"Her teeth will rot much more quickly because they don’t meet properly so she will have difficulty chewing."

He also judged the puppy to be so emotionally disturbed that it would never recover.

"This is a puppy that will be frightened of the world for the rest of its life to some degree or other."

He said it was unsuitable to be homed with children and furthermore should not have been put up for sale

The vet says this pup is not fit for sale.

Puppy farms?

Ms Bastin, who is also known as Loretta Toye, won’t say where she sources the puppies she sells.  

Experts say that the dogs show the classic symptoms of animals raised in so called puppy farms where they are often kept in crowded conditions, have little or no human contact, and often suffer from physical and mental health problems.  

Several Dobe farm customers say they contacted Essex Trading Standards with their complaints but said they were dissatisfied with the response they received. 

Essex Trading Standards refused to comment on why no action appears to have been taken.

Dobe Farm currently holds a full pet shop licence, which obliges it to ensure that, "All stock sold must be in good health as far as can be reasonably determined without veterinary inspection."

Chelmsford Borough Council which issues the licence also refused to be interviewed but told the BBC. 

"We have made inspections … and are currently investigating a potential breach of the licence.

"The council is now working closely with Trading Standards and the RSPCA which could result in legal action being taken against Ms Bastin."  

Ms Bastin refused to be interviewed on camera.