In the early hours of Saturday morning (March 18), PCs Liam Vernon and Luke Howie were travelling along the A689, leaving Bishop Auckland, when they spotted a vehicle parked up and the driver stood beside on the grass verge.
As they spun around to check everything was in order, they noticed the driver swinging a sealed carrier bag on the edge of the bank.
They put their blues on and parked up behind the vehicle. They then saw the man fling the carrier bag onto the front seat before starting to ‘inspect’ his tyre as the pair got out of the police car.
As the officers approached the vehicle, they could hear squealing coming from the passenger’s side and, as they got closer, they realised it was the same bag the man had been swinging just moments before.
The officers untied the bag which was sealed tight and found the five-day-old Cocker Spaniel puppies inside. They were so young their eyes hadn’t opened yet.
The driver was questioned at the roadside whilst officers monitored the puppies and arranged for the litter to be transported to a local vet for treatment.
The man, in his 50s, was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty, money laundering and trafficking in a controlled drug and taken into custody. He has since been released on bail whilst enquiries continue.
All six puppies are now making a full recovery at Wear Referrals Vets and will soon be fostered.
As part of the investigation, search officers carried out a section 18 warrant of the man’s address and rescued the puppies’ mother and father too.
They have since been reunited with the litter and are also receiving treatment.
PC Liam Vernon said: “The puppies were riddled with fleas and if we’d have passed just seconds before, we would have been none the wiser.
“Both myself and Luke are huge dog lovers, so it has been one of those jobs which has really stuck with us, we’ve hardly stopped thinking about it but are just glad to have saved them – it really was right place, right time.”
