THE OWNER of a boarding kennels, which was controversially closed down on January 21, has hit back at the RSPCA in an attack on the methods the society used to gain access to his kennels, Rosedene, based in the Midlands.

Mr Goodall has also become the subject of a facebook page which has praised the work he has carried out for the dogs in his care, the site already has over 1,000 fans.

The kennels were dramatically shut down by police and RSPCA workers after complaints of conditions at the Rushall site.

Those speaking out against the closure have also demanded to know why three dogs, called Stocking, Diesel and Clarke, were put down by vets during the raid and what has happened to another 56 dogs removed from the premise.

In a statement, Mr Goodall said: ‘At the time the RSPCA stormed my premises I was not on site, so they had no right to enter and search Rosedene without my permission. They were trespassing. They are a charity and have no legal powers whatsoever. The police had a warrant to search the premises, but this authority did not enable anyone else to enter. I should have been able to check to see who is authorised to enter by the warrant onto my property and insist that the others leave. They conducted a search without authorisation from me.’

No information

‘I have not been charged with anything and have had no explanation to why this has happened. The police would have given a full receipt that lists in detail what they were taking, but it was not the police it was the RSPCA that took the dogs and I had no information off them whatsoever.’
Mr Goodall also said that he had been harrassed, intimidated and threatened on entering the kennels, and that the dogs and volunteers had also been terrified by the actions of the RSPCA. He told us: ‘If I had known that the so-called animal carers were going to start by putting three frightened dogs to sleep I would never have signed them over! The police did not show me any documents until the ordeal was over.’

The volunteers, who were their when the police and RSPCA stormed the premises, were allegedly intimidated by the sheer volume of officers that turned up said that they felt pressured to allow them on to the premises.

Outrageous

Mr Goodall continued: ‘The volunteers were busy cleaning kennels on the morning of the raid. They had taken dirty bedding out in exchange for clean bedding. The volunteers were told to move away from the premises and were unable to continue cleaning up faeces/urine and mop, change bedding and top waters up. The RSPCA began recording their evidence on tape once the volunteers had left, which is outrageous. Every kennels in the country would be routinely cleaning their kennels on the morning. The volunteers were not allowed to administer medication to dogs that needed it, which is also a morning routine. If they had come down an hour later they would have seen that the kennels were clean, with clean blankets and a bowl of fresh water.

‘Dog walkers were stopped from taking any dog on their daily walk, so all dogs were locked in kennels all day and obviously stressed from lots of strangers peering at them. The dogs were left in their own mess throughout the day, some with no water.

‘Some of dogs were being treated for kennel cough. It is a very common bug that dogs are very susceptible to in kennel environment and it is highly contagious. The dogs who had kennel cough were being treated accordingly for this. Our vets go to Rosedene three times a week to check on the dogs and any poorly ones are seen by them.

He also insisted that the kennels had not been shut down, but would be closed for refurbishment. ‘We have not been able to do much while the dogs were in our care due to noise of machinery and paint fumes, which would make the dogs stressed and ill,’ he said. He said that further donations were being collected to speed up this process.

Send your opinion of this story below