Source : Perth Now news
A million-dollar “puppy farm” operation has been shut down after authorities discovered more than 100 dogs living in squalor behind a home in Perth’s south.
Como resident Jia Xu Dong, 41, was sentenced to nine months in prison on Wednesday for breaching his bail conditions after investigators found he had continued to advertise and sell dogs linked to an illegal operation that was initially busted by the RSPCA nearly two years ago.
Dong first came into the crosshairs of the RSPCA when a City of Canning council ranger observed dogs, some of which were in need of “urgent medical attention”, roaming outside a home in Canning Vale on December 16, 2024.
The RSPCA arrived at the home the same day and found more than 100 dogs living in conditions of “prolonged neglect” in crowded kennel blocks and enclosures.
Among the dogs were an assortment of groodles, golden retrievers, french bulldogs, cocker spaniels and “other mixed breeds,” many of which had “severely matted coats” and “untreated medical conditions”, including ruptured ear drums, lesions and abscesses, dental disease, dehydration and gastrointestinal illnesses.
According to the RSPCA, several dogs displayed “fearful behaviour,” and after they were seized, they were “profoundly shut down and fearful of people, likely due to limited or no positive human interaction”.
Some of the dogs needed to be sedated to be safely taken from the property, and an independent veterinary behaviour specialist said they had been dealing with “intolerable suffering”.
Dong was interviewed under caution by the RSPCA on December 29, 2024, and during the interview he admitted to owning the dogs.
He was charged with 36 counts of animal cruelty on May 6 last year, and in July 2025 he pleaded guilty, convicted on all charges. He was ordered to forfeit his passport and not make plans to leave Western Australia.
In the aftermath of his guilty plea, puppies were advertised on Gumtree under the name “Andy Wang”, who told one prospective buyer he was “moving to Melbourne” and was hoping to sell a puppy earlier than agreed.
In August 2025, Dong sold another golden retriever puppy despite being in the midst of court proceeding, before he then urged his vet to give false information to the RSPCA about his identity and continued breeding and selling dogs in September 2025.
In May this year, Gumtree records showing 47 separate ads for the sale of puppies linked to Dong between June 2021 and July 2025 were sent to the RSPCA, which then launched further action against him for breaching his bail conditions.
Across the span of his puppy farming operation, Dong is thought to have bred “at least” 390 puppies over a four-year period, generating more than $1m in sales.
During Dong’s sentencing, magistrate Sandra De Maio described him as a “devious and dishonest individual” whose story “changes like the tides”.
“He left (the dogs) to suffer in appalling conditions. He was uncaring of their welfare and indifferent to their pain. They suffered greatly for most of their lives,” she said.
Dong was jailed for nine months and fined $5000 on Wednesday for breaching his conditions.
