A SCOTTISH Kennel Club judge has lost her breeder's licence after she kept dogs on her puppy farm in appalling conditions.

Dianne Heathcote kept champion fox terriers in cramped travel cages - allegedly for up to 14 hours a day with no light.

Animal campaigners claim the dogs were left without water and were denied regular exercise. Up to a third of them had matted fur and some had sores on their backs, necks and legs, according to Advocates for Animals Scotland. One dog was found dumped in a cage in a bin shed.

Advocates for Animals director Ross Minett said: "The dogs were clearly leading a pitiful life, spending most of it alone and cooped up in small cages. This was a shameful way to treat man's best friend."

The revelations will rock the dog breeders' community, where Heathcote is well-known. She is vice-president of the Fox Terrier Club and judged the National Terrier Club Champion Show in April, 2005. She is also listed as a Scottish Kennel Club judge and has won numerous trophies and rosettes for her dogs.

The horrific conditions at Corrie Kennels in Lockerbie were exposed by an undercover investigator from Advocates for Animals. They called in the SSPCA and the local authority. Dumfries and Galloway Council refused to renew Heathcote's breeder's licence.

And the SSPCA were so shocked they obtained a legal order giving Heathcote two weeks to improve conditions at Corrie. SSPCA regional superintendent Tom Gatherer said: "The way the dogs were kept was abhorrent."

The investigation did not involve the Corrie boarding kennels and cattery and Heathcote continues to be licensed to board animals there. Heathcote's website features healthy-looking terriers frolicking on the grass. But the images are a far cry from the reality at Corrie.

Photographs taken by Advocates' investigator John show dogs piled up in travel cases. Some were so desperate to escape that they were gnawing through the wire mesh.

John said: "The animals were deprived of adequate exercise, forced to live in extremely cramped conditions and, in some cases, lived in complete darkness with little air for up to 14 hours."

Heathcote's licence meant she was allowed to keep 20 breeding bitches. The SSPCA discovered she had twice that number. She also kept another 10 bitches and 18 dogs. John said when Heathcote's dogs were allowed out briefly to exercise in a small pen, some walked round in circles or jumped up and down on in the same spot.

He only discovered the terrier in the bin shed when he heard it whimpering. John added: "I couldn't even see it until I pulled the bins back. There seemed to be dogs in the strangest of places."

Heathcote kept the dogs quiet by banging a long piece of plastic piping against their cages and shouting at them to shut up. John said: "Several dogs cowered as I went to pick them up and they did the same with Mrs Heathcote." Some dogs had pieces of old curtains placed in front of their cages. Several were muzzled to stop them barking.

Heathcote told John that she tended to pick out the show dogs for grooming. He said: "It appeared that the ex-show dogs got less attention and were in the poorest state."

On Monday, the SSPCA applied to a sheriff for a warrant under the Animal and Welfare Act to give them access to the kennels. They then issued a statutory welfare notice on Heathcote to force her into action.

Superintendent Gatherer added: "The conditions were cramped. In my opinion, these dogs should be allowed to socialise and display normal behaviour." Since receiving the welfare notice, Heathcote has moved the dogs into more suitable accommodation.

SSPCA chief inspector Hamish Mackintosh said Heathcote had co-operated with his requests and he was pleased with the improvements she had made.

He added: "The situation was unacceptable. But there have been vast improvements and I have an ongoing dialogue with Mrs Heathcote. However, I am still looking for further improvements."

Heathcote is no longer breeding puppies for sale.

John said he felt Heathcote had held on to too many dogs and was overwhelmed. He accused her of "neglectful cruelty".

Advocates for Animals promote the protection of animals through investigations, campaigns, political lobbying and education.

Minett said: "We oppose the commercial farming of puppies. We would urge anybody considering getting a dog not go to a pet shop or dealer, but to consider going to a rescue home."