A rescue charity has been tasked with rehoming fifty-seven Labrador puppies after they were handed over by a supplier last week.
The puppies, aged between thirteen weeks to ten months old, were due to be specially trained for tough jobs such as sniffing out drugs and explosives in Northern Ireland.
However, the company that supplies the dogs to security firms is said to have no longer wanted them for reasons that are yet to be confirmed.
The Many Tears Animal Rescue charity, based near Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, caught wind of the dogs’ sorry situation and travelled all the way to Northern Ireland to collect them and bring them back to Wales.
Many Tears Animal Rescue / Facebook
Many Tears owner Sylvia Van Atta told WalesOnline: “The kennel that was caring for the dogs prior to them starting full training was suddenly told they were no longer wanted by the supplier to the security companies – there was no proper explanation.
“These dogs could have ended up in Iraq, or at one time, Afghanistan. The majority of them are six months old and under and would have started their full training at seven to eight months old.”
Sylvia added that all the puppies have been checked over by a vet, who found them to be ‘super fit, very smart and well-put together dogs from working lines’.
She said: “They’re all in very good condition and had obviously been looked after very well before all this happened.
Many Tears Animal Rescue / Facebook
“Now I hope they’ll lead very different lives with caring new owners. They would make great dogs for active families.”
The dogs will need to be vaccinated, wormed and spayed/neutered if they are old enough.
Many Tears is inviting people to contribute towards the cost of their care, and is hosting ‘show arounds’ on weekdays at 12pm and at 11am on weekends for anyone interested in meeting and adopting one of the pups.