Puppy mill busts keep climbing: 62 this year
September30
A breeder who creates a “rescue site” to adopt out dogs she actually bred herself. A training kennel that dumps off unwanted dogs and tries to pretend they’re strays. So it goes in the nefarious world of puppy mills. To date this year, I’ve tracked 62 busts of substandard kennels containing anywhere from a dozen dogs to 225. That’s a bust every six and a half days.
Here’s the latest:
AUGUST
– Nearly 100 bloodhounds, boxers, French Bulldogs, Australian shepherds, cocker spaniels and other breeds were found languishing among dozens of dead dogs at the home of a breeder near Fort Worth, Texas. The breeder had died several days earlier and the dogs had gone without food and water during Texas’ record-breaking heat wave.
– In Raleigh, N.C., 67 dogs and three days were removed from a home that had been advertising the animals on the internet. The breeders refused to provide documentation that the dogs were registered with the American Kennel Club or the Continental Kennel Club, as they claimed. (Neither form of registration would have guaranteed the health of the dogs, I might add.)
– In Lincoln County, N.C., a breeder surrendered nearly 135 dogs after officials told her she needed to have them vaccinated. The poodles, terrier, dachshunds and maltese were treated for fleas, ticks and skin, ear and eye problems. The Guilford County animal shelter that took them in had also taken in 35 dogs from nearby Franklin County two weeks earlier.
– In Missouri, rescuers removed Chihuahuas, Maltese, Shih Tzus, Westies, Poodles and Dachshunds from puppy mills across five counties. The kennels were all shut down.
– Meanwhile, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster went after JJ Kennel in Ray County after inspectors found dogs mired in excessive feces in unsafe cages and in need of medical care.
– Investigators near Clewiston, Fla.,discovered 225 dogs in substandard conditions. The breeder was selling the puppies without health certificates, which are required by state law.
SEPTEMBER
– In Mason City, Iowa, a dozen frightened older breeding dogs who were suffering from fleas and rotten teeth were taken from a kennel.
– In Bell County, Texas, authorities removed more than 75 Chihuahuas, poodles, miniature schnauzers, Pomeranians and Boston terriers from a puppy mill. The dogs had bacterial and viral infections, decaying teeth and heartworm in some cases .and were unsocialized.
– The sheriff of Floyd County, Texas, seized approximately 250 dogs from a kennel whose owner claimed the dogs were up to date on their shots. German shepherd, golden retrievers and collies were removed along with a malnourished horse.
– At the request of the Humane Society of the U.S., the state of Missouri checked out a so-called dog rescue group operated by a breeder, Wendy Laymon, which appeared to involve dogs from Layman’s own puppy mill. The complaint said Laymon created the organization, “Rescue a French Bulldog,” and used it to offer allegedly rescued dogs to the public for adoption fees that ranged anywhere from $500 to $950.
– In Dade County, Fla., police removed 17 thin and flea-covered Great Danes from a kennel that were subsisting without food or water.
– A breeder in Georgia surrendered 65 dogs to the Atlanta Humane Society. The dogs weren’t abused but had been neglected somewhat, officials said.
– Also in Georgia, authorities halted operations at a training and breeding facility suspected of dumping unwanted and emaciated dogs. Conditions were said to be deplorable at Premier K-9 kennel, owned by Art Washington, a former business partner of NFL football pro Michael Vick. The kennel called the county in August to pick up four dogs it said were strays found on the property. The dogs were purebred Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers and other breeds. They were covered in feces and emaciated; two German Shepherds had wasted away to just 40 pounds each, half their normal weight.