CONVICTED (2024) | Tonicha Grady, born 3 June 1996, most recently of Newlaithes Avenue, Morton, Carlisle CA2 – ran an unlicensed puppy trading business.
Grady admitted running her puppy trading outfit without the required licence.
Prosecuting on behalf of Cumberland Council, lawyer Jonathan Farnworth said the defendant had previously run her business legitimately, having paid for the local authority licence that allowed her to trade. This costs £430 and involved having the dogs and their accommodation checked by a vet.
This was to ensure there were no health or welfare issues.
Grady then allowed her licence to expire without renewing it, but continued to sell Staffordshire bull terrier puppies illegally between February 2022 and January 2024.
“In that timeframe, she advertised four sets of puppies on the Pets4Homes website and on her Instagram business account,” said Mr Farnworth.
“Basically, she made out that she was a licensed breeder, which the crown says was dishonest.”
The lawyer accepted that the offence had involved “no welfare issues.”
Mr Farnworth described the business as “lucrative,” referring to a turnover during the period involved of between £33,000 and £38,000.
In June 2022, Grady advertised five female pups at a price of £2,000 each. Similar adverts appeared at later dates.
The court heard that Grady said she had received online abuse since details of her conviction came to light. This had caused her to close down her social media accounts and, it was claimed, leave her address on two occasions.
Grady’s lawyer added that a relationship breakdown had left Grady with £15,000 of debt.
Sentencing | fined £300, with £34 surcharge, and costs of £300 – a little under a quarter of the total £1,299 costs of bringing the case to court. Grady will settle the debt at a rate of £50 per month.
Tax dodger. But the fools that buy off these sites, when thousands of dogs need homes, the fools that hand over so much money for a dog that has been bred with absurd and often cruel distortions, are keeping people like her in blubbery lips.