Justice For Reggie: the campaign to end puppy farming

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The life of young pup Reggie was tragically cut short and blamed on his time in a suspected puppy farm before he was bought by Rick Ackers, from Wigan, in north west England. The death shook the whole family and had a profound impact on his young son. Determined Rick has since launched a campaign to tighten up laws around puppy selling to prevent more innocent dogs suffering due to the actions of greedy sellers.

His ‘Justice For Reggie’ campaign is calling for a change in the way dogs can be sold online, and it’s set to be debated in Parliament next month. Last year Rick had chosen to get his young son a family dog as a surprise to bring some joy following a tough year of lockdowns.

He came across beautiful Labrador Reggie on a reputable website and enquired about him. Rick questioned why Reggie was slightly cheaper than other dogs on the website but the seller said he had bred the dogs to give one to his grandfather after his dog had died.

For the rest of the litter “it wasn’t about the money, it was about finding good homes,” Rick recalls being told – a story which turned out to be untrue. Rick says the seller told more lies when Rick went to see Reggie, with the address very bare.

The seller claimed to have recently moved in and said this is why the dog’s mother wasn’t there. But alarm bells were set aside as Rick “fell in love” with the pup and ended up taking him home that day.

At first all seemed well, but the following day disaster struck. Reggie’s health quickly deteriorated overnight and Reggie developed a bad case of sickness and diarrhoea, and seemed to have no energy at all. Rick took him straight to the vets, where he tested positive for canine parvovirus, a serious virus that is particularly dangerous for young puppies.

Just a few days later, Rick got a terrible phone call telling him that the dog’s condition had worsened and the humane option was to put him to sleep. Rick was with Reggie in his final moments, and was heartbroken to lose the newest member of his family so soon.

“It was awful, just seeing that life… it’s like he never found affection”, he said. “He found love in our house, and we gave him a load of attention and had a load of toys and everything for him. He never left our side for the short time he was with us.”

Reggie’s loss was particularly tough on Rick’s then seven-year-old son, who had bonded with his beloved new puppy instantly.

“It was getting close to Christmas, so he said, ‘I wanted a Playstation 5 for Christmas, but if I don’t get a Playstation 5, can Santa bring me Reggie back?’ It did cut him up. I saw him talking to the ashes of Reggie on the fireplace quite a bit.”

Rick tried to get answers but found the house he had bought the pup from was empty. It was later discovered that Reggie had been bred on a puppy farm in Ireland, born and raised in appalling conditions.

The puppy and his siblings had been taken away from their mother before the recommended time, and they also hadn’t had their vaccinations, which would have given Reggie a far better chance at fighting off the fatal virus.

In the wake of his family’s tragedy Rick set up the Justice For Reggie campaign, which aims to help put a stop to cruel puppy farming by calling for more regulations for websites around selling dogs online, making it more difficult for sellers to use puppies to earn quick cash.

The new measures the campaign is calling for would include sellers having to provide photo ID and proof of address, as well as a minimum number of photographs including ones of the puppies with their mother.

They would also ensure that sellers would have to show proof of vet certificates with all vaccination details for puppies.

Rick wants to see selling websites fined if they fail to make sure these higher standards are met when it comes to people selling dogs.

The issue is set to be debated in Parliament on December 13, after a petition set up by Rick and the Justice For Reggie campaign gained over 100,000 signatures from fellow dog lovers. Reggie’s Law, named as a tribute to Rick’s beloved puppy, would see the Government introduce regulations for all websites where animals are sold.

Rick is set to walk 232 miles to Downing Street from December 2, to deliver the petition in person on December 7. 

He hopes that the Parliament debate will lead to these new measures being introduced by the Government to help improve the way that dogs are sold online, and stop more puppies like Reggie losing their lives far too soon.

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