A devastated Bracknell woman is appealing for support after her Ukrainian-born rescue dog was seized after an error over vaccination records.
Rescue puppy, Molly, is one of 23 traumatised dogs that has been torn away from her family to be quarantined and isolated for four months.
The dogs were seized by DEFRA and APHA after vital blood tests were found to be forged in a German lab.
Each family is now required to pay between £2,000 and £6,000 in order to cover kennel, vet and vaccination costs.
Sophie Davies, Molly’s heart-broken owner, has reached out online to the community for support to cover costs while in Quarintine.
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The charity that Molly was rescued by, Paw Help UK, have agreed to pay for part of the kennel costs and with multiple cases this may end in the dissolution of the charity.
On her Just Giving page, Sophie said: “Molly was blessed with a phenomenal foster mum who raised a sweet, curious, and intelligent animal. Neither she nor the organisation deserves this."
The family had Molly for just over a week and were starting to see her as part of the family before they seized her when the absence of a blood test couldn’t prove she’d had a rabies vaccine. This was despite having the information, stamps and stickers required.
She added: To travel through a war zone only to get persecuted on British shores is just bitterly horrible. She’s now traumatized by default, but we’re looking to protect her from the extremes of the duress.
"DEFRA and APHA are simply doing what they have to do – but for it to be so densely wrapped up in bureaucracy has been profoundly destructive.
"Their error at the border has allowed 24 dogs and their families to bond, and the subsequent separation has been swift, compassionless, and mired in questionable motives.
"For 4 months, essentially, she doesn’t have permission to be a puppy."
While in quarantine, Molly and the 23 other rescues will be re-vaccinated and then have to wait three weeks for a test to confirm. Sophie said that she will ‘fight like hell to have her released at this time, and not three months later for no reason other than the country of birth.’
This is a perfect storm that has affected 24 completely innocent lives and their families. Sophie is determined to drum up enough attention around this situation to find a quicker, less disruptive solution for these animals and their humans.
If you wish to donate to help get Molly through these four months of isolation click here.
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