Fourteen dogs were found dead, presumably from heat, after being locked in a caravan in Le Creusot.
Fourteen dogs were found dead, probably from heat, after being locked in a caravan in Creusot (Saône-et-Loire), where their owner was probably breeding them illegally, AFP learned on Wednesday from the prosecution. The man had left shortly before the weekend about twenty American bullies, medium-sized bulldog-type dogs, in the caravan which he assured investigators was air-conditioned, said a police source. But, according to him, the air conditioning broke down and, when he returned home over the weekend, dogs had died, the same source said.
The alleged clandestine breeder then burned the bodies before burying them. However, he would have been convinced by a friend to go and report the facts to the police. When questioned, the Chalon-sur-Saône prosecutor’s office simply confirmed that “14 dogs” had been found dead and that an investigation was underway to find out the reasons for these deaths. Six other animals that were in the caravan, including puppies, were recovered in sometimes critical condition by the local SPA.
“The four female dogs have plaques that may be ringworm and a strong smell of urine on them… We can see that they were in deplorable conditions and that they were used for breeding”, testifies a employee of the SPA, contacted by AFP. The puppies are both five months old, she said. Serge Bornet, the president of this SPA in the Creusotine region, indicated that the association was going to file a complaint with a civil action against the alleged illegal breeder. “We had already intervened at his home with the municipal police but he did not want to open so we could not collect evidence,” he added to AFP. The American Bully is a medium-sized dog with a muscular, robust and powerful body, highly sought after for its currently fashionable molossian look. Its price varies between 1,000 and 1,500 euros.