Transported thousands of miles at just weeks old & bred in horrifying conditions – the reality of buying an imported pup

WITH his cute button nose and fluffy teddy bear appearance, Love Island stars Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague couldn't help but fall head-over-heels when welcoming their new puppy earlier this month.

But tragically just six days later, the couple were left "heartbroken and shocked" when the imported Pomeranian pup - a birthday present for Molly named Mr Chai - tragically died.

The pup's death caused Love Island fans to start a petition to end the controversial trade of getting dogs shipped in from Russia, where puppies are often farmed in horrendous conditions then sold for thousands and shipped to Britain.

Speaking to The Sun Online, RSPCA Chief Inspector Ian Briggs said: “It is heartbreaking for any owner to lose a beloved pet. We always urge any prospective owners to do their research, see the puppy with its mother and not to buy an imported puppy. 

“Buying an imported pup leaves new owners open to the very real risk they are supporting cruel puppy farming, with the parents kept in awful conditions, used as breeding machines with sick and dying pups  - and there is no real way of checking."

While there's no evidence Mr Chai - who was purchased from a third party breeder - came from a puppy farm, Molly has since admitted she wouldn't opt to buy a pet from overseas again, saying: "If we had the time again we would have got a dog from the UK or got a rescue dog from the UK."

Here, The Sun Online investigates the problems with buying and importing overseas pets, and takes a closer look at why it increases the risk of buying an animal that has been cruelly farmed.

Celebs offered free puppies 'like they're a pair of shoes' 

Mr Chai was shipped into the UK by a puppy company who have denied any wrongdoing.

But several other former Love Island stars who've purchased dogs from the company have said following Molly and Tommy's announcement, they wouldn't use her again.

Laura Anderson, 29 - didn't have any issues with her puppy but has since said she wouldn't recommend buying from the breeder.

Taking to Instagram Olivia Attwood, 26, said: "Since I came out of Love Island I've literally had breeders like that messaging me, offering me free dogs, like they're a pair of shoes of something. It's just horrendous.

"There is no care in that kind of breeding."

Olivia Buckland also spoke out, making it clear that she wasn't slamming Molly, but saying: "Third party breeders don't have a clue where they're getting their dogs from, I don't care what b****** they sprangle you they are getting a puppy from another country, they are not seeing the mum, they're not seeing the dad, even sending a young puppy by plane from places like Russia is ridiculous."

'To lose a dog like that is gut-wrenching' 

Sadly, Molly's situation is far from rare, and is a tragedy restaurant manager Sarah Brown*, 30, from Chichester, knows only too well.

She bought an eight-week-old border collie puppy called Evie last Christmas, only to have to make the agonising choice to have her put down just three days later.

While Evie's full background and whether she was imported is unknown, Sarah believes Evie came from a puppy farm, which is why she was so poorly.

Sarah tells Sun Online: "I know exactly how attached Molly would have been to that puppy even after a few days, and it's a horrible thing to have to go through...It's absolutely gut-wrenching.

"I found Evie on a website, and there were some red flags when we arrived to see her, but the puppies seemed fine and we knew that we could give her a better life away from the environment she was in.

"We took her home that day, but by the next day we had to rush her to the emergency vet because she was sick and lethargic.

"Her condition deteriorated and she was diagnosed with parvovirus. We made the horrible decision to have her put down just two days later - she was in pain and we didn't want her to go through that.

"It was so horrendous, and I also felt angry too - it was so reckless. Someone was just selling puppies as a money making scheme, but actually you're dealing with a living animal, that has feelings."

Immeasurable misery and poorly trafficked pups

While the UK government have made various attempts to crack down on petfishing and puppy farming, it is clearly still a problem.

A previous Sun investigation revealed an estimated 200 poorly puppies are ­trafficked into the UK by Eastern European gangs every day, and many customers are unaware they've bought from an unregistered breeder.

RSPCA Chief Inspector Ian Briggs says: "Sadly, a rising demand in puppies means that responsible, reputable breeders who pride themselves on high levels of animal welfare cannot meet demand and we’re seeing more and more puppies being illegally smuggled into the country from abroad or being bred on puppy farms here at home.