Daisy’s story.

The house was lovely.

If you’d driven past, you might have admired it. You’d never have guessed the horror that was unfolding just behind it.

Around the back was a large, purpose-built kennel block. Inside were row after row of terrified dogs who had never once in their lives set even a single paw outside.

I was standing at the entrance, dread in the pit of my stomach at what I was about to walk into.

And do you know what the puppy farmer said to me?

“I love my dogs.”

If you’d seen the state these poor mammies were in, and the fear in every pair of eyes blinking back at you, you’d have said the same as me.

No. This is not love. Not a bit of it.

When I spotted Daisy, she was peeping at me through a gap in a metal divider. As I stepped inside, her little face disappeared.

I found her cowering in the corner, curled up into the tightest little ball. She was trying to make herself invisible.

Daisy was shaking like a leaf. After the way she’d been treated by every human she’d ever known, how could she know I was there to help her?

I crouched down beside her, trying to reassure her that I was a friend. “You’re okay now, little one. I’ve got you.”

She was petrified.

Here was a dog who had felt no love or comfort in her lonely little life. For years, she had suffered silently, sleeping on urine-soaked sawdust and being forced to give birth again and again.

When I scooped Daisy up in my arms, I could feel her little heart thumping in her chest.

Never, not once, had she been for a walk. Never had she chased a ball or felt the comfort of a warm blanket.

She had never even set a single paw on grass before, never mind carpet.

I removed 20 dogs from that puppy farm that day. Sadly, they were just the tip of the iceberg.

Dogs like Daisy are still being used for breeding, hidden away from view in puppy farms across Ireland. NSPCA Inspectors have rescued dogs with painful infections, weeping eyes and fur so badly matted they could barely stand.

Not too long ago, I received an update about little Daisy.

When I saw her face, I could hardly believe she was the same dog I had found trembling with fear on that puppy farm.

Her transformation was a reminder of just how much a dog’s life can change once they are finally given the chance to feel safe, cared for and loved.