A Carlisle woman who sold puppies for thousands of pounds without a licence has been fined.
Tonicha Grady, 28, illegally sold four sets of Staffordshire bull terrier puppies between February 2022 and January this year.
Grady posted adverts on Instagram and also a Pets4Homes website which falsely gave potential customers the impression that she was properly accredited.
Grady had previously held the correct licence while running her business. But amid financial problems following a relationship breakdown, she failed to pay the £430 which would have kept the accreditation up to date.
Jonathan Farnworth, prosecuting, told Carlisle Magistrates’ Court this afternoon that licences were handed out only after checks were made to ensure premises were suitable, and also that there were no welfare concerns for the bitches involved.
Mr Farnworth said the trading was a lucrative enterprise with sets of puppies being sold for many thousands of pounds, and added of Grady: “She knew she should have been licensed and she wasn’t.”
Grady, previously of McDevitt Way, Carlisle, admitted one offence of running a business selling dogs without a licence.
The court heard she was a woman of previous good character. She had previously held a licence without issue. There was no evidence of any complaints in relation to her business, nor of any harm to the puppies involved. One woman provided a character reference which spoke of her care and love for one particular puppy.
Tariq Khawam, defending, said Grady had never directly gone out to deceive.
District judge John Temperley noted that a community order was not deemed workable by the probation service.
Instead he imposed a £300 fine and ordered Grady — whose risk of reoffending was assessed as low — to pay a £300 costs contribution.
