Pup purchased at Kelly's Kennels in Warrington dies aged seven months

Brandon Branigan and Ellie Allen are speaking out on their experience at having purchased their beloved beagle Arlo from Kelly’s Kennels in Croft.

Unbeknown to them at the time of purchase, the kennels was and is still facing puppy farming allegations, with campaign group One Little Westie fighting against the mass selling of puppies.

The couple, from Wigan, admitted there were ‘red flags’ from the get-go when entering the Brookside Farm establishment which has been surrounded by controversy for several years.

But like for many, the excitement of buying their first puppy Arlo took a hold of them.

Speaking to the Warrington Guardian, Ellie, 23, and Brandon, 28, told how their search for a pup began at Douglas Hall Kennels back in July.

Based in Burnley, the kennels has also been the target of allegations of the same nature as Kelly’s Kennels – with campaigners arguing that loopholes are being exploited to allow both establishments to bring young puppies bred at a large operation 300 miles away in Fivemiletown, Northen Ireland, over for mass sale in England.

Arlo's owners were told he by vets he had a hereditary disease which most puppies do not live past six months with (Image: Supplied) “It was mine and Ellie’s third year anniversary. We went to Douglas Kennels and took my little brother,” Brandon said.

“We initially went as a day out and as we are both based in Warrington for work, we decided to visit Kelly’s Kennels too. We wanted to buy a Dachshund, but they had none left, that is when we saw this beagle they had named Buster.”

After falling in love with the playful pup, the pair decided to purchase Buster there and then, taking him home and later naming him Arlo.

“It took him only a couple of days to learn his name which made us think he didn’t even know his name originally,” Ellie said.

Brandon continued: “You do miss a few things at the time, when we bought him, we were just so excited.

“The staff were not really bothered about talking to us.”

Ellie noted how the area where the puppies are on display is not regularly monitored by staff.

“You can just walk in and go straight to the dogs. You can pick them up and walk around. There were kids in the pens with the puppies,” she explained.

“The staff were not patrolling to see if people were handling them well.”

Ellie and Brandon purchased Arlo from Kelly's Kennels in Croft (Image: Supplied) After being told Arlo was 16 weeks when they purchased him, the pair got home and checked through the paperwork given by Kelly’s Kennels to find they had been misinformed – with his actual date of birth stating he was 21 weeks old.

Brandon described how he and Ellie and both their families “fell in love” with their new addition.

“He was like a baby to us. We went out and got the best pet insurance and we had him on the raw food diet. We had him in this pet club too,” he said.

But problems began occurring soon after bringing Arlo home, when the couple noticed he was constantly scratching behind his ears.

Following a check-up at Vegan Vets in Wigan, a vet who examined Arlo stated they “couldn’t believe how dirty his ears were”.

Arlo had to be prescribed medication, however despite this he was said to be a ‘healthy’ and ‘happy’ dog.

For three months Ellie and Brandon watched Arlo blossom into a playful puppy, gaining weight as expected and being treated to four-mile walks each day.

Ellie and Brandon were lied to about Arlo's age by staff at the kennels, making out that he was 5 weeks younger than he was (Image: Supplied) However, on Sunday, November 3, things took a turn for the worst.

“We took him to a beagle meet that morning, he was throwing up and would not touch his food, He was a bit off and was drinking a lot of water as well as throwing it back up,” Brandon explained.

A trip to the vets for his regular check-up came the following day and it was suspected he had picked up a bug.

Arlo came home but continued to appear unwell. They then took him to be checked at Pet Medics practice in Worsley on Thursday, November 7.

Various blood tests were carried out and a report provided by Pet Medics highlighted multiple health issues, one being that he had suspected congenital kidney disease – a hereditary disease inherited from birth.

“The vet said if the kennels had done the correct testing when he was a puppy it would have come up that he had this” Ellie added.

“They said he had the kidneys of a 12-year-old dog.”

Kelly's Kennels in Croft sells dogs bred at a registered farm in Northern Ireland, nearly 300 miles away from Warrington (Image: Supplied) Arlo continued to deteriorate, with his kidney levels dropping and his weight having gone down from 12kg to 9.2kg in just a week.

Ellie and Brandon had to make the heart-breaking decision on Sunday, November 17, to put him down at the young age of seven months, having exhausted every avenue.

“We told the vets to spend every penny of the insurance to save his life, but there was nothing left they could do as he was experiencing kidney failure,” Brandon concluded.

He was told by vets at the practice that the survival rate for the hereditary condition was low, with most puppies not surviving past five months.

A report provided by Pet Medics Worsley following Arlo’s death stated that blood tests showed “moderate anaemia” and the findings of an ultrasound scan “led to a strong suspicion of congenital chronic kidney disease, likely renal dysplasia”.

After posting their devastating story on a beagle Facebook page, owners Ellie and Brandon were met with a flood of responses and stories of similar experiences from pet owners who had purchased puppies from Kelly’s Kennels.

“We don’t want families to go through the same pain,” Ellie stated. “Even if we can spread awareness about it and stop people from going.”

Highlighting the alarming nature of the sale of dogs at the Warrington-based kennels, she added: “There is no background checks. We asked to see the parents, but they said we couldn’t.

“They didn’t even give us something with his parent’s scent on to take home.

“In my head now, it is screaming red flags. The fact you can walk in and pay and walk out with a dog, there are no checks made.”

Moreover, the contracts provided by Kelly’s Kennels upon purchase of a dog state that all dogs are in ‘good health’.

The definition the paperwork provided of ‘good health’ being ‘free of parasites and hereditary disorders’.

Kelly’s Kennels were contacted by the Warrington Guardian for comment on the story but the request has been met with silence.

Meanwhile, Warrington councillors have proposed to raise the issue of puppy farming and the welfare of animals in Warrington, as well as the standards being set for providing licences to breeding establishments, in a recent council meeting.

The proposed motion was withdrawn from the meeting but it is speculated that work is under way to investigate this further.