It was August 2008 when I first got the call about dogs being kept in raised wire cages inside a shed in Gippsland Victoria. The person on the phone was nervous and spoke quickly and wouldn’t leave a name but did agree to meet me.
I travelled to Gippsland one Saturday afternoon in September 2008 and met a group of people in the local pub who were willing to provide exact details and history of this horrendous puppy factory. They remained nervous and they implored me to be careful as Kelly had a horrendous temper and had allegedly been previously charged with pulling a gun on Council officers in 2007. One day these people want their full story told, but Kelly reads this site daily and I still need to protect the identity of these people who witnessed horror time and time again but then found the courage to speak out.
Their story is horrifying and it will be told Kelly….one day.
After our initial complaint Council revoked KKK’s permit and Kelly appealed to VCAT. When I first released the story we also received a leaked letter from the then Mayor Darren McCubbin that clearly demonstrated the lack of empathy or willingness to do anything for these dogs stuck in the cages. The leaked letter showed that the Mayor of Wellington Shire simply didn’t care and was urging his Councillors to ignore the genuine plea’s for help that were pouring in to Wellington Council’s office.
Two months and many letters later, instead of helping the dogs or providing any answers we were still being ridiculed and abused by elected Council officials who taunted people with childish comments like “I will watch out for a cute little puppy for you”. Wellington Councillors were being paid to harass and ridicule genuine complainants when all they wanted were these dogs out of cages. Councillors were completely unprofessional and unaccountable for their actions, meanwhile the dogs were still in cages. Council failed to advise the RSPCA of the condition of the dogs on the property and that again was left up to us to report this puppy factory. Kelly surrendered some of the dogs that required veterinary care to the RSPCA.
Almost a year after I released the story of KKK puppy factory, VCAT handed down their decision. It came down to the size of the cages and pens, not if they were suitable to confine dogs. It was a sad day for the animals.
So here we are, 2 years after first exposing KKK Puppy Factory and once again Kelly has been ordered to remove all dogs from her property and cease operating as a puppy factory. I know Kelly well enough now to know she will not comply, she will not allow these dogs a chance at living a life as a companion animal should, in a home with a loving family. Kelly will engage a lawyer and she will fight to stay open, she will fight for the right to keep these dogs confined and breeding for life to earn her an income. And what will VCAT do this time, how many chances should be given, how many years does a dog have to live in a cage before someone in authority says enough is enough.
Nothing can prepare you for what you witness on puppy factories. Footage and photographs don’t really describe adequately what your eyes are witnessing whilst your mind is shutting down, the stench, the claustrophobic feeling of confinement, the sounds of pain, the cries, the terror. To witness dogs that have shut down completely they no longer ‘live’ in their own bodies, they are psychologically paralysed. They have a womb, then they can earn, they are not dogs, they are breeding machines.
Their eyes scream a silent agony……………
Someone posted to me today “In rescuing animals I lost my mind, but found my soul”. After 18 years I know what it feels like to lose your mind but sometimes I feel that part of my soul is left behind in those sheds with the ones I couldnt save.
The dogs of KKK have one paw out of their cage, we must keep fighting. No matter what obstacles are put in our way, this injustice must end.
Kelly you think you are watching me, but it is all of us that are watching you.
We will still be here until every cage is empty.
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