July 2025
Reggie’s Story
For those of us who joined Justice for Reggie (JFR) on Facebook a little later during our campaign, here is Reggie’s story and our journey. Reggie was a beautiful Labrador puppy bought from a reputable online selling site in December 2020. Reggie’s family visited the pup and even spent some time with him before bringing him home. Reggie’s mother wasn’t at the property and many reasons were given blaming the COVID-19 restrictions that sounded plausible at the time. The family were given veterinary paperwork and all seemed well. However, a few hours after bringing him home, Reggie became ill with diarrhoea. The next day, he deteriorated further and was rushed to the vets. There he tragically died a few days later from Parvovirus despite all efforts to save him. Reggie’s family suffered terribly watching him die during his short little life. The seller was long gone by this time so they investigated further and put out a Facebook page to find Reggie’s siblings, which they did and found that one fell ill and survived, but there was no trace of the other puppy. After further investigations, it transpired that Reggie was reared on a puppy farm in Ireland and brought over to the UK to be sold on. It was also discovered that all the veterinary paperwork was fake. The Justice for Reggie campaign was then launched to call for the regulation of online selling sites and since then, hundreds of concerned animal lovers have shared similar experiences with us. A petition was started called ‘Reggie’s law’ that gained over 100,000 signatures and was later debated in Westminster with full support of many MP’s and MS’s. The team of JFR volunteers have grown in the quest of exposing illegal breeders and keeping the momentum going.
Reggie is shown in the middle of this photo. All of these puppies have suffered terribly with the majority having sadly passed away. Illegal breeders and sellers advertised all through the online selling sites.
The Illegal Puppy Trade
The Irish border is still a hot spot for trading puppies into to the UK and the rest of Europe. Even in the UK, puppy farms are still very much active. A puppy farm can be anything from a large-scale breeding establishment to a back yard breeder. They all have one thing in common – prioritising profit over animal welfare. The breeding dogs are mated every season (never seeing a vet) without any time to rest in between. The pups are sold as quickly as possible. It’s heart breaking to think of those poor dogs in cramped, dirty conditions on concrete floors, never experiencing any love and affection. Then disposed of when no longer useful.
The dog trade is a huge multi-million pound industry and is still rapidly growing. It is crazy when you think that all farm animals moving between the UK and Ireland each have identification tags and are traceable, when on the other hand the illegal transportation of puppies fall under the radar!
What can you do?
Buying a puppy is a huge decision to make and people are often caught up in the excitement too much that they can easily forget to look into the full background of the animal. They might look cute in the adverts but unfortunately, their appearance hides the cruel upbringing they have experienced. We want to make sure that you are buying from a reputable breeder and there are many trusted organisations such as Dogs Trust, RSPCA and even your local veterinary surgery to turn to for advice.
The more knowledge you are armed with about what to consider when buying a puppy, the more you can protect yourself and the welfare of the dogs. We all need to play a part in stamping out this cruel trade.
