Please help save my dogs

Hi my name is Lesley and I’m fund raising because North Lincolnshire council has taken away my livelihood and is issuing me an enforcement notice to get my dogs re-homed or worse.

“My move from North East Lincolnshire to North Lincolnshire has taken away my lively hood and is threatening to take away my dogs because of a different interpretation of DEFRA.

I was a five star licensed breeder in North East Lincolnshire. I moved home about three miles up the road this has put me under North Lincolnshire council. (Ulceby)

I apply for my license and was told I would probably have to start from the bottom as I am new in the area. 

So I applied and i got my five stars. Four weeks later planning enforcement officers knocked on my door saying I need planning. They wanted me to apply for half residential half commercial use on my home. I had never had to do this before. They told me I would be closed down within 28 days if I didn’t concede. 

I applied for planning and this alerted my neighbours to the fact I breed. So they objected I think they thought I was going to start erecting kennels. But that wasn’t the case.

It was refused and I appealed that was also refused.

To cut a very long story short North Lincolnshire Council now want me to rehome four of my dogs as they state six is rule of thumb, again this was never the case in North East Lincolnshire. They explained, If I don’t I will get an enforcement notice and will be up before a magistrate and they will look on this with a dim view.

How do I choose what dogs should leave, we are all they have known since being eight weeks old. They vary in age from 2-10 years of age. 

With rescue places being full to the brim, dogs found in the streets abandoned you would think that mine that are really well looked after would be able to stay until nature takes its course. I said I would give them the best life for what they have done for us and it seems the council won’t allow that.

This is North Lincolnshires policy it’s not Law. People are terrified of councils and licensing. It looks like the home breeder is becoming extinct and more commercial breeders are taking over. 

The rules differ from council to council and Defras rules are being manipulated to suit councils. I was asked on my application form if I had planning, my answer was no.

The money was taken for vet visit and license knowing I didn’t have planning.

Planning have written to me saying not only must I stop breeding I must rehome four of my dogs and this will affect my license.

Then I get an email from licensing saying don’t worry this will not affect your license.

It’s ridiculous that both planning and licensing do not work together. Now planning want me to reapply for planning permission to keep my 10 dogs however, I still have the neighbour at the back of me that objected. He’s not going to allow it as he says he has six people monitoring me. I don’t understand how councils can be so different and differ with rules that are set by Defra.

Let me just confirm, there is no commercial breeding activity occurring on site.

• All dogs currently present are privately owned companion animals, several of

whom are elderly, vulnerable, and in no condition to be rehomed without consider-able distress.

• The property remains a wholly residential dwelling with no physical alterations or operational changes that would reasonably constitute a shift in use.

I have no noise issues or no issues with environmental health so I don’t understand why I can’t keep them.

I rang North East Lincolnshire council/ East Lindsay council who said they have never heard of this.

I can’t afford a solicitor because they have taken away my livelihood

I don’t want to loose my dogs they got me through one of the worst times of my life when I got a tumour on my bowel.

Please if you can help I would be very grateful. The whole process has been very expensive and the council are asking for another £1200 to appeal then I need a dog lawyer who can fight this. Along with my petition I may stand a chance.

I’ve gone down every other route I can think of this is our last chance to keep our dogs together.

After writing this our beloved Annie our 10 year old cavapoo passed away.