Stacey McPhee: Aberdeen woman who sold sick and dying puppies banned from keeping dogs after admitting animal neglect

A woman has been banned from keeping dogs for three years after she pleaded guilty to animal neglect.

Stacey McPhee from Ellon in Aberdeenshire was the subject of a Scottish SPCA investigation after multiple accounts from people who had bought puppies from her claimed their dogs were sick with life threatening diseases.

McPhee, 23, of Esslemont Circle also has connections with a property on St Mary’s Drive and several online ads for puppies had links to her.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When the dogs were taken to the vet, the owners discovered that they had not been vaccinated properly, leading to the contraction of dangerous diseases.

Aberdeen woman banned from keeping dogs for three years after pleading guilty to animal neglectAberdeen woman banned from keeping dogs for three years after pleading guilty to animal neglect
Aberdeen woman banned from keeping dogs for three years after pleading guilty to animal neglect

Three of the puppies, a male cockapoo called Brodie and male and female cavalier King Charles’, called Alfredo and Roxy were all found to have giardia.

If untreated, this disease is lethal.

Read More
SNP spent £615,000 on office refit, annual accounts confirm

An undercover inspector from the Scottish SPCA’s special investigations unit said: “We found evidence McPhee has sold many sick or dying puppies to unsuspecting members of the public.

Aberdeen woman banned from keeping dogs for three years after pleading guilty to animal neglectAberdeen woman banned from keeping dogs for three years after pleading guilty to animal neglect
Aberdeen woman banned from keeping dogs for three years after pleading guilty to animal neglect

"She was selling these pups from her address and all of the people who bought from her spotted there was something wrong right away and immediately sought veterinary treatment.

“We welcome the sentence and the three-year ban is an ideal disruption tactic for someone such as McPhee who was a prolific offender and caused immeasurable heartbreak to people who bought sick and dying animals from her.

"We would urge members of the public not to buy from individuals like McPhee as no thought is given to the welfare of the animal; only how much money can be made.

“We will continue to do all we can to stop the low-welfare puppy trade, including through leading Operation Delphin, a multi-agency taskforce set up to disrupt the industry.”

The Scottish SPCA had been gathering evidence on this case since 2019.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

McPhee pled guilty to failing to provide veterinary care to three puppies under Section 19 (2) (a) & (b) of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.

She was sentenced to a three-year ban on keeping dogs and six months of supervision at Aberdeen Sherriff Court on 24 August.

For more information on SSPCA click here.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.