'We trusted a monster with our dogs – now they might all be dead'

Sparko was just a puppy when his owner sent him to Essex for training.

Described by his owner as "the softest, dopiest dog you'd ever meet", the cane corso cross was finding his feet after being rescued from poor conditions.

But his defining trip to the Save A Paw animal rescue centre was one he never returned from.

When police raided the property in Crays Hill, near Billericay, Sparko's was just one of 41 bodies they found inside.

The investigation that followed spanned the UK as detectives tried to link the dead dogs with their owners.

On Monday, 26-year-old Oaveed Rahman, who lived at the site in Hope Road, admitted harming 21 dogs and a cat, as well as 11 offences of fraud by false representation.

Sparko's owner, Michelle Halliday, is one of the few owners who actually know their pet's tragic fate.

Many others say their lives have been stuck in limbo since the horrors of what was happening behind the closed doors of Save A Paw came to light in May 2025.

"Sparko left us a happy, friendly dog who loved everyone and everything," Halliday says.

The 49-year-old from Leeds took him in as a puppy after he was put up for sale on a Facebook page, but soon realised he needed specialist training.

That was when Save A Paw was first recommended to her.

"I spoke to Oaveed and he had emails... thanking him for helping them to train dogs," she explains.

But once Sparko was in Rahman's custody in January 2025, the contact soon dried up. Halliday says she quickly began to sense trouble.

"I begged and pleaded to go and pick Sparko up. Meanwhile, [Rahman] was playing games and he knew Sparko was gone," she says.

"The thought of Sparko and the others being scared and not understanding what was happening breaks my heart."

It was eight weeks after the police raid on 13 May 2025 that Halliday took a call telling her one of the bodies was confirmed to be Sparko's.

She adds: "I can honestly say this will haunt me and the other owners for the rest of our lives.

"I feel so guilty sending Sparko to that monster."

Basildon Council launched an internal inquiry after the raid in Hope Road, in which a further 20 dogs were found still alive and in need of treatment.

Its officers have been trying to confirm if any complaints were made about Save A Paw in the lead-up to the discovery.

Caroline Park, 54, is one of the people who has no answer about what happened to her dogs.

Deebo and Demon were sent to Save A Paw in late 2024 when a change in family circumstances meant they needed a temporary home.

After losing contact with Rahman, the 54-year-old from Northumberland found Deebo had been given away without her permission.

She has no idea what has happened to Demon.

"Did he starve him to death? Did he beat him to death?" she asks.

"Was he one of the unidentified dogs, the ones they couldn't identify because they were so badly decomposed?"

The uncertainty, Park says, is consuming her life.

"So many people outside Essex are not aware of the atrocities that happened in Hope Road."

Sharon Duffy, from Nottinghamshire, is another owner desperate for answers.

She gave her eight-month-old cane corso cross Kingsley to a friend, who later took it to Save A Paw in December 2024.

It was a series of events Duffy now believes to be the biggest mistakes of her life.

"I sobbed my heart out for months after taking that phone call," the 57-year-old says, reliving the moment she heard of the police raid.

"I went to put flowers at the house and I could smell death."

Duffy, like many others, has been supported by a network of victims online who together are hunting for closure.

Carla Patrick, 48, set up a Facebook page when she lost contact with Rahman about Ricky, her two-year-old American bulldog who was sent to Save A Paw in December 2024.

She was soon flooded with messages from other Save A Paw customers who were anxious about their pets.

"It has impacted me every single day. 'Awful' is the only word I can use to describe it," says the south Londoner.

"I spoke to Oaveed Rahman many, many times and I gave him so many opportunities that if he'd done something we could just go and get our dogs.

"Some of the stuff he's done is brutal and intentional. He's a vile little character."

Rahman will be sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on 20 February.

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