A dog owner who fears his pet is buried at a fake rescue centre where dozens of dogs died in squalid conditions has called for police to carry out a full excavation of the site. Daryll Olde demanded officers scour the Save A Paw facility after conman Oaveed Rahman, 26, was jailed for leaving 41 dogs and one cat to starve to death with no access to water.
Police raided the home in Crays Hill, Essex, last May and found the remains along with 20 dogs which were still alive. Three were later put down owing to the neglect they suffered. Mr Olde, who fears his dog may be among the dead, says there could be hundreds more pets hidden at the site in Hope Road. He told the BBC: "I am a strong believer that if they dig up that patio there will be hundreds of dogs under there, 100%. Because of how many dogs died there, there has to be more."
Mr Olde took the "very hard decision" to give his Tibetan mastiff, Tiny, to Save A Paw in December 2024, after her behaviour worsened. He feared she might harm his children. When the 40-year-old dropped Tiny off, he was surprised to see Rahman was having a patio laid in winter.
Caroline Park, from Northumberland, also sent two dogs – Deebo and Demon – to Save A Paw that December due to a change in family circumstances. She now knows Deebo is alive and was re-homed without her permission, but is in the dark about what happened to Demon. She said: "If that had been a murder scene where they'd found human remains, they would've dug the entire garden up looking for more evidence. It's one of those things where I'm not sure if I want to know or not."
Rahman admitted animal cruelty, fraud and owning a banned XL Bully and was jailed for five years at Basildon crown court on Friday. He was also banned for life from keeping dogs and cats. Judge Richard Conley said: "The gravity of offending is so great... I can barely conceive of a more serious offence of this type."
Essex Police insisted they were thorough in the face of a "deeply upsetting" scene. A spokeswoman said: "We know we have not been able to find answers for every single person, and very sadly the conditions at the address meant that was not possible." Superintendent Leigh Norris added: "We may never truly know the extent of his offending. The remains of a number of animals were unfortunately unidentifiable."
