A PUPPY farmer who bred at least 116 dogs and kept them in 'squalor conditions' has avoided jail.

Kelly Latuskie, 48, of Waterbeck, Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, admitted four animal welfare offences on September 8.

She was sentenced at Carlisle Magistrates' Court yesterday.

The court heard that she committed the offences at two locations: Newlands Farm Cottage, Carleton; and at Willowholme Industrial Estate.

The charges she admitted were:

* Failing to ensure the welfare of the dogs in her care by not protecting them from pain and suffering through failing to have them treated for dental disease.

* Flouting her animal welfare breeding licence by keeping more dogs than were permitted at Newlands Farm Cottage, Carleton, between June, 2019 and December, 2020.

* Breaching her licence by keeping more dogs at her Willowholme boarding kennels than were permitted by her licence, between July, 2019, and December last year.

* And breaching her licence by not having sufficient “competent people” at the Willowholme site to ensure that the welfare needs of the dogs in her care were met.

Chris Hopkins, prosecuting, said that in an application to Carlisle City Council in June 2019, Latuskie had disclosed only four breeding bitches were being kept at Newlands Farm.

The court was told that in February 2020 a warrant to search the premises was issued, but this did not happen due to the pandemic.

In June 2020 Latuskie was questioned by the authorities and told them she had sold 62 puppies.

But enquiries identified a further 54 puppies had been registered with another microchip company.

Mr Hopkins said that Latuskie had sold at least 116 puppies since being granted a licence in June 2019.

If she had been complying with her licence, she would have sold between 20 and 29 puppies.

She had used 10 breeding bitches, when her licence only allowed four, and was selling each puppy for about £1,300, the court was told.

Mr Hopkins said that her income from this time would have been about £150,000.

When officials carried out a search of Latuskie’s premises, they found 18 breeding bitches, two studs and two other bitches - a total of 22 dogs.

The court was told that the dogs were being kept in 'squalor conditions' and a number of dogs had severe dental disease and ear infections.

There was also evidence of poor hygiene due to the excessive number of dogs.

A statement from Tonya Cook, who purchased a puppy from Latuskie for £1,200, was read out to the court.

It said: "This has caused me and my family distress to hear of the awful conditions. It was very upsetting.

"We only used a council approved breeder. The purchase was for our son's birthday. It has given him great joy."

The puppy was later found to have severe ear mites by a vet, the court was told.

Following an inspection of Latuskie's 'Bark in the Park' boarding kennels, 36 dogs were present on the site. The maximum allowed was 30.

Staff members had told officials there would often be more than the allowed 30 dogs on site.

John Smith, defending, said there had been "no deliberate attempt to cause suffering" to the dogs and that there wasn't a "high level of suffering".

He told the court: "We don't have any of these animals having to be put down. None of them required urgent veterinary treatment.

"I'm not trying to minimise it but I'm trying to put it into context."

He also said Latuskie disputed the figure of £150,000 and that the price of the puppies varied from as little as £200.

However, Mr Hopkins said: "The financial circumstances set out does cause concern to the council.

"There are 15 people sent statements that the figure of £1,300 has been calculated.

"She was also running Bark in the Park from 2017 to January 2021 until her licences were cancelled.

"Where has this money gone? It seems like an awful amount of money has gone somewhere."

Mr Smith then told the court: "If you sell animals, you have still got expenses."

Latuskie was given a custodial sentence of 16 weeks, reduced from 24 weeks, suspended for 18 months.

She was also ordered to pay costs of £16,981.83 to Carlisle City Council, and a £128 surcharge to fund victim services.

Latuskie, who wept as she was sentenced, had been banned from keeping animals on conviction and this came into force at midnight last night.