Cooked To Death – Twenty Puppies Found Dead Crammed In Back Of A Van On Scorching Day

Cooked To Death – Twenty Puppies Found Dead Crammed In Back Of A Van On Scorching Day.

IN a shocking incident 20 puppies were “cooked to death” after they were found crammed into the back of a van on a scorching hot day.

In total a staggering 44 dogs including Chihuahuas and Beagles were spotted being transferred between two vans and whimpering by a passer-by. Sadly 20 of the 44 puppies which were crammed into the van in the scorching heat last August died.

The matter has now come before the court and the man responsible has been fined and given a community service order.

Patrick Stokes aged 25, was spotted on the M6 last year in August by a woman as he was moving multiple dogs between two vehicles. The passer-by heard whimpering coming from the vans so she stepped up and went over to challenge him.

The court heard the horrifying story of the dogs and Prosecutor Graham Dono commented that: “Stokes told the woman he was transferring them from one van to the other as it was ‘too hot for them’ but she thought this was strange as the second van was smaller and was not ventilated.

“She counted that there were over 20 puppies in the larger vehicle but was unable to calculate how many had been transferred to the small van.

“The police alerted all forces around the country and within an hour Stokes had been stopped on the M6.

“When Stokes was arrested he was asked when the puppies had last been fed and watered. Stokes responded that it was when they had arrived from Ireland.”

When the dogs were finally rescued they all needed to have veterinary treatment and it was later discovered that 20 of them had been suffering from the canine version of Covid- 19.

Michael Levy spoke in Stoke’s defence and explained that: “The shock of him appearing at court on these charges has made sure he will not be doing anything similar in the future. I believe he should be punished by means of a conditional discharge.”

Magistrate Sue Alexander believes it was ‘only a matter of chance’ that Stokes was caught out and that some of the animals could be rescued. She commented that: “Having put 15 puppies in each crate that was definite overcrowding and it no doubt resulted in the unnecessary suffering for the puppies which all needed veterinary care to deal with their dehydration.

“Because of these factors we assess this as being far too serious for a conditional discharge. And having been convicted of this you are being banned from owning, keeping or transporting of dogs for two years.”

Stokes has now been given 100 hours community service and ordered to pay the measly sum of £180.