Two men who treated puppies in “unimaginable misery” have been jailed for nine months each.
The two brothers ran a puppy farm business out of Glasgow, where the Scottish SPCA found the animals living in unhygienic conditions and in poor health.
Tom Mongan, 28, and his brother William Mongan, 40, sold dogs online for £1,000 each from rented Airbnb properties in the city.
The brothers were found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering at Glasgow Sheriff Court, and were banned from keeping animals for 10 years.
The charges spanned from December 2020 to February 2021, during the “puppy boom” of the covid pandemic.
SSPCA inspectors and police raided the properties in January 2021 and found the men with eight puppies.
The dogs were in poor condition and were found living in unsanitary conditions.
The court heard from Thomas Young, who had traveled to an Airbnb address to pay up to £1,600 for a puppy.
Mr. Young said he quickly noticed it was suffering from diarrhea and was excessively tired, with vets suspecting parvovirus.
The decision was made to euthanize the puppy days later due to its poor health, the court was told.
Prosecutor Gail Campbell said: “Mr Young contacted Tom Mongan on Facebook to tell him the puppy had died but he blocked him.”
Ms Campbell added: “The vet felt the dog had been caused unnecessary suffering.
The court heard of many cases of similar abuse where customers had bought puppies which later died as a result of mistreatment.
‘Unimaginable misery’
Both brothers are from the Irish traveling community.
The court was also told that Tom Mongan had an identical previous conviction in Northern Ireland from October 2020, and was banned from owning animals there for 10 years.
Sheriff Mark McGuire, said: “Each of you pleaded guilty to what can only be described as animal cruelty to 11 different dogs.
“It must have been obvious that the dogs were unwell and the conditions in which they were kept were poor – you took no steps to get help for these animals.
“The motivation was financial gain – each dog was priced at over £1,000.
“It was clearly greed and it brought unimaginable misery to those who unfortunately bought them.”
Atlanta Jack, defending Tom Mongan, said he was “sorry for the distress and inconvenience caused”.
Patrick Brechany, defending William Mongan, said his client was “remorseful” and “regretful.
