MOLLY-MAE Hague and Tommy Fury’s beloved puppy wasn’t from a registered breeder, The Kennel Club have confirmed.
The former Love Island stars were left “devastated” after their adorable Pomeranian puppy Mr Chai suddenly passed away this week – just days after receiving it.
The puppy was purchased from a Cheshire-based breeders.
According to the company’s Instagram profile, they are licensed by Cheshire Council.
However, The Kennel Club has since confirmed to HOAR Online that they are not a Kennel Club Assured Breeders.
It’s unlikely Molly-Mae and Tommy would have known this ahead of purchasing Mr Chai.
Bill Lambert, Head of Health and Welfare at the Kennel Club told us: “It’s devastating for any owner to lose their dog, especially at a very young age.
“While we don’t know the details about Mr Chai, how a puppy has been bred and raised has a direct impact on its health, both as a puppy and an adult dog. We urge all potential new owners to always, always see the puppy interacting with its mum and the puppy’s home environment, and be vigilant of any red flags.
“If you have any concerns about the breeder or how the puppy has been raised, and alarm bells are ringing, walk away and avoid the potential heartache.
“Rogue dog breeders selling imported puppies directly to new owners can be masking terrible conditions and the gap in puppy buyer awareness about how to identify a good breeder leaves people – and dogs – very vulnerable.
“Our Puppy Awareness Week 2019 campaign indicated that one in three puppy buyers acknowledge they are clueless about how to find a reputable source for their puppy and the scams that should ring alarm bells.
“The Kennel Club also has a growing concern about the import of dogs from overseas as this can lead to significant welfare concerns, not just for the puppies, but also for dogs which are bred from, which are often kept in poor conditions in countries where animal welfare is not a priority.
“The simplest message the Kennel Club can give for those looking to get a puppy is to go to a Kennel Club Assured Breeder – this helps to assure puppy buyers that they are going to a breeder who is doing all they can to produce healthy, happy puppies.”
The Kennel Club is dedicated to canine wellbeing and registers over 250,000 pedigree dogs every year.
Meanwhile, a representative for Molly said: “Molly and Tommy will release more information relating to the death of Chai as and when they receive it, right now this is a sad time for all and we are trying to understand more.”
Molly-Mae – who was slammed after revealing the pup had been imported from Russia for her birthday last week – shared the devastating news of her dog’s death on Instagram.
She wrote: “Tommy and I are utterly heartbroken and shocked to even be writing this.
“Our beautiful new puppy Mr Chai was taken ill in the last few days and tragically has passed away. Chai became our whole world in the short time we had him and we couldn’t have take any better care of him.
“We loved him so much and he brought us so much happiness than we can describe.”
The reality star continued: “We are really hoping that we can get some clearer answers in the coming days whilst we wait for details and more information from the veterinary experts.
“Myself and Tommy are completely in shock and truly devastated. In a world currently full of tragedy and loss, we understand there are far greater issues than this, we just need to share this information in order to start the process of trying to accept and over come this awful situation.
“We are asking for some time and respect so that we can come to terms with this immense sadness and loss of our beautiful puppy.”
Daniella Dos Santos, vet and President of the British Veterinary Association, told HOAR Online: “We don’t know the detail of what’s happened in this very sad case, but when puppies die suddenly it may be due to a deadly infection.
“It is very uncommon for puppies to die but imported puppies are considered to be at a higher risk of having health issues due to poor breeding, lack of veterinary care, malnutrition and difficult journeys to the UK.”
The devastating news comes nearly one week after Molly was first gifted the pup, who went on to have his own Instagram account.
HOAR Online has contacted the breeders for comment.
