A couple have shared the heartbreaking consequences of unscrupulous dog breeding, after their dog, Archie, had to be put to sleep.

Louise, 33 from Preston, and her partner, found Archie, a Springer Cocker crossbreed puppy, online.

When they first brought him home, he was a typical energetic and happy Spaniel, always running and playing with their other dog, Rowan. But then Louise started to notice Archie was occasionally limping on one leg, and over time he started to slow down, before one day suddenly he was unable to put weight on his back leg.

Louise said: “We took Archie straight to the vets and they diagnosed him with a luxating patella.

“They said it could be fixed with a simple surgery and so we of course said we would go ahead, but they did X-rays as part of the surgery and we got a phone call saying Archie had hip dysplasia on both his hips. The vet said it was a severe case.

“Our Archie was just over 12 months old at this point.

“The vet recommended two options, a bilateral total hip replacement or euthanasia. We decided to see how he got on having just had surgery and take it day by day as he wasn’t showing any signs of hip pain so far.”

Louise then noticed Archie’s behaviour changing and he was more reactive and isolated. Because of this, Archie was referred to a specialist that saw curves in his femur and recommended a major surgery to try and straighten it.

Louise went on: “We agreed to the surgery in the hopes it might help his hips as well. It ended up being Archie’s third surgery within just 12 months, after each one he had to be on crate rest and never allowed off the lead, essentially not being a dog.

“Archie was so unbelievably clever and energetic that we decided it would not be fair to put him through any further surgeries and decided we would do anything and everything we could to help him non-surgically.”

Louise and her partner continued to work on building up Archie’s muscle mass, but his behaviour continued to change with him and his once close pal, Rowan, growing further apart.

Louise continued: “It put a strain on the entire household really because we were so stressed about how Archie was feeling, while also chasing up the insurance and trying to take time off work to take him to the different therapy appointments, everything was just beyond stressful.”

Archie’s behaviour to Rowan became increasingly aggressive so Louise returned to the vets for an X-ray where she was referred to referred to a specialist orthopaedic surgeon who said Archie’s hips were one of the worst cases he had seen. There were only two options for Archie, a total hip replacement surgery or being put down.

She said: “My partner and I were just heartbroken but we had agreed before, no more surgery. It wasn’t fair on Archie or Rowan. We took Archie home and tried to make his last week as special as possible, bringing the family over to see him, taking him to his favourite places and he seemed almost happier.

“Luckily we were insured from day one but obviously insurance doesn’t cover everything, even on the highest level. It put a massive strain on myself and partner’s relationship due to the stress.”

When Louise told Archie’s breeder about his diagnosis, they replied with a simple message along the lines of ‘oh no we had been considering doing health tests at some point’. But the breeder then stopped replying.

Louise said: “We wanted the breeder to be concerned and inform the owners of the rest of the litter so they could get their pups checked out, as catching it early the more you can do. Looking back sadly I think the breeder was just looking to cut some corners and breeding just to make some extra money.”

After Archie died, Louise and her partner decided to get another dog, Maple, a Labrador retriever.

Louise shared: “We found her via The Kennel Club and after everything we had been through with Archie we were really quizzing the breeder.

“We learned a lot from Archie. It was all so sad but we are just glad that he came to us and we were able to give him the best chance in life and tried absolutely everything for him.”

Worryingly, Louise is not alone, as new research from The Kennel Club found more than half of puppy buyers in the North West experienced complications when getting their dog, and more than one in two faced unexpectedly high financial costs. 

Mark Beazley, chief executive of The Kennel Club, said: “With the world of puppy breeding and buying getting more and more difficult to navigate, it’s crucial that would-be owners know exactly what to look for when buying a puppy, to avoid being duped.

“Scammers and puppy farmers are clever and will do what they can to disguise their cruel trade so it’s important to be extremely vigilant. Puppy buyers should make sure they’re asking the right questions, see the puppy, with their mum and in their home environment, and step back if things don't feel right.”

For more information visit thekennelclub.org.uk/bepuppywise.