WATCH: Nightmare guest trashes AirBnB cottage near Inverness with 'disgusting puppy farm'
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WARNING: Explicit and sensitive content.
An Inverness couple are 'devastated' after a woman they rented their cottage out to on AirBnB 'trashed their home and used it as a puppy farm' with 15 or more puppies held captive in a cage at one time.
Tracey Parsons and her partner Dave Bradley have had their cottage in Scaniport listed on AirBnB for five years with no previous issue before, but are now 'terrified' of letting it out again after they returned to 'neglected pups and faeces smeared across their walls'.
Tracey said: "We received a call from our neighbour on Tuesday to say that they had seen some puppies locked in a car for over an hour outside of our cottage.
"They had also said that this woman had been knocking on our neighbour's doors to ask if they wanted to buy a puppy.
"After hearing everything, we immediately got in the car to see what was going on ourselves.
"There was a car parked on the drive with some people further up and when I asked what they were doing there, they said they were at the cottage to buy a puppy.
"They then said she was charging them £1500 for one of these puppies, and I just couldn't believe it."
WARNING: Explicit and sensitive content.
Dave said: "Later on when I was tidying the cottage, I found the implements they use to microchip dogs.
"When I saw it, I was shocked. I could not believe the state of the place."
The woman had checked into the couple's property last Friday, and expected to stay for 10 nights, however her stay was cut short and she was forced to leave yesterday after the owners of the cottage discovered what she was up to.
Tracey said: "She had no regards for any of the damage caused, she simply did not care. She even wanted her money back, which we thought was a joke!
"The police escorted her out and the Scottish SPCA took all of the puppies, but at this moment in time we don't know if she has been given them back or not, which was another argument we had."
Scottish SPCA inspector Andy Brown said: “We were called out to a cottage in Scaniport, Inverness on Tuesday after receiving reports of puppies being left in a vehicle for days.
“When we attended there were no dogs in the vehicle. A number of puppies were being kept in the property, along with their mum, and we had these animals checked over by a vet. The vet had no concerns over their health. We are continuing to work with the owner of these animals to ensure they are being appropriately cared for.
“If anybody has any future concerns over these dogs or any other animal, they can contact our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.”
Tracey continued: "We will survive, but we are really old now and we have been through a lot, so we really are just devastated."
Dave said: "I spent hours unblocking the toilet yesterday because she had filled it with poo, towels and baby wipes. She even blocked the sink with it all too.
"The smell was horrific!
"Another big concern was having several puppies locked in a filthy car for over an hour when it was -10 outside.
"She then had around 15 or 16 puppies locked up in a cage in the cottage and they were absolutely covered in faeces and urine.
"Inside the cage were cans of dog food just chucked in, with the sharp lids, and one puppy even had its paw caught on it.
"We actually had to dig the runt of the litter from out of the rest of them because he was buried beneath them all. It was just terrible."
Tracey was 'devastated' to see the dogs neglected and said: "I held the runt of the litter for over an hour and it was just so upsetting.
"I have never heard of anything like this in the Highlands."
Tracey immediately contacted AirBnB to raise her concerns and explain the situation.
She claimed: "When I called AirBnB yesterday and explained that we were going to be cancelling the rest of her booking due to the situation, they argued that we would have to refund her the remaining money for kicking for out early despite the state of the place!"
Tracey was 'appalled' by the situation as a 'dog lover' herself, and said: "I am dog friendly for one dog, not for 20 puppies to be brought here and run a business!
"This needs to change as animals should not be treated in this way, and we will be going after compensation for the damage caused to our cottage."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We received a report of concern about dogs in the Torbreck area, near Inverness, at around 12.30pm on Tuesday.
“Officers attended along with a partner agency and carried out enquiries. No criminality was established and no further police action was taken.”
AirBnB has been contacted for comment.
