Friday, May 6, 2016

Puppy Mill Action Week - Horrible Hundred 2016 - Missouri Hall of Shame




Each year researchers at the Humane Society of the United States gather data from state and federal inspection reports, investigator's photographs, and enforcement records received from the Freedom of Information Act to create the Horrible Hundred Report to highlight some of the most troubling problems in this industry.

The Horrible Hundred 2016 focuses on problem puppy mills in 16 states. Findings included underweight dogs, injured dogs who had not been taken to a veterinarian, puppies left outside to freeze in frigid temperatures, animal living in filthy conditions with feces in their food bowls and fur, and unlicensed dealers offering to ship puppies sight unseen on websites without the required USDA license.

Missouri again topped the list with 30 of the 100 worst facilities, followed by Iowa (15), Kansas (14), Ohio (9), Nebraska (5) and Pennsylvania (5). Just over half of these dealers are repeat offenders.  15 appear in the Horrible Hundred for the third time;  11 for the fourth.  75 of the 100 are USDA licensed.

An AKC "Breeder of Merit" where underweight and injured dogs were found in unsanitary conditions, appears in this year's report, as do 6 dog breeders who supplies puppies to one of the largest providers of puppies to pet stores.


Talking Dogs blog is located in Missouri and it with great sadness, disgust and anger, here is the 2016 Missouri Hall of Shame:
  • Pamela Baldwin, Samples Creek Kennel, Edgar Springs, MO (repeat offender)  Severely matted dogs, injured dogs, walls smeared with feces and extremely filthy conditions.
  • Kevin Beauchamp, Beauchamp's Puppy World, Lebanon, MO   USDA filed an official complaint after licensee repeatedly failed to allow inspectors in; failed to provide adequate veterinary care to dogs.
  • Craig and Angela Burns, Burns Cuddly Canines, Exeter, MO   Puppies were matted with feces; underweight dogs had not been treated by a vet.
  • Kay Butler, High Point Kennel, Montgomery City, MO (repeat offender)  Dogs with bloddy lesions;  underweight dog; puppies with loose stools.
  • Kimberly Coleman, TLC Kennels, Clinton, MO (repeat offender)  Puppy found entrapped in wire flooring;  white dogs appeared brown due to soiling with mud and feces.
  • Leroy Detweiler, Sunset Ridge Kennel, Princeton, MO (repeat offender)  Emaciated dog and dogs with open lesions found;  received official warning from the USDA.
  • Mary Foster and Cathy Griesbauer, Country Pets, Montgomery City, MO (repeat offender)  Massive puppy mill with more than 900 dogs had license for one property, but found operating second unlicensed facilty.
  • Caryl Freeman, Freema Frenchies, Seneca, MO   Nine puppies found "lethargic, squinting;" offers puppies for sale on Facebook and puppyfind.com but has no federal license.
  • Jeffrey and Judy Gray, G & P Kennel, Rothville, MO (repeat offender)  Multiple sick or injured dogs;  fined $9,500 by USDA for repeat violations.
  • Beverly Hargis, Hargis' Sunshines Kennel, Hallsville, MO (repeat offender)  So many feces that the dogs had trouble walking without stepping in it.
  • Wilma Jinson, Jinson Kennel, Stella, MO  (repeat offender)  Sick and dying puppies found year after year; wounded and suffering animals did not have adequate veterinary care; fourth time in Horrible Hundred report for grossly inadequate care.
  • Toni and Wendy Jones, TJ's Kennel, Alton, MO   Failed to get sick or injured animals treated promptly by a vet; sick or injured dogs found by staate inspectors three years in a row.
  • Monta Lou and Mural Beckett, Soo Big Kennel, Joplin, MO  Puppies found living in darkness;  Bichon had mass the size of a gold ball; Maltese was found "lethargic and unstable;" another was matted with feces.
  • Eva and Isaac Martin, Cedar Line Kennel, Fortuna, MO (repeat offender)  5 week old puppies found in outdoor pen surrounded by flies and feces.
  • Catherine Mast, C and C Kennel, Bogard, MO  Emaciated dog and dog with explosive diarrhea for 3 week had not been treated by a vet.
  • Janice and Kenneth Nelson, Exeter, MO  Dog had "golf ball sized mass;" 4 other dogs had lumps or masses; 42 dogs in need of dental car.
  • Barbara Neubert, Barb's Pups (formerly Neubert Kennel and Farms), Vienna, MO  (repeat offender)  Limping boxer with swollen leg had not been treated by a vet; unsanitary conditions; USDA violations for 6 years in a row.
  • Jimmy Doyle Powell, Jimmy's Hilltop Kennels, West Plains, MO  Nursing mother dogs were underweight with hip and rib bones protruding; others had fleas and lesions.
  • Mikhail Raylyanu, Marshfield, MO  Received official USDA warning for failure to provie veterinary care to underweight dogs, dogs with wounds and hair loss.
  • John and Linda Reichel, Reichel Farms, McGirk, MO  Dogs had feces in their food and water; injured dogs found; puppies kept outside in the cold.
  • Debra Ritter, Cornerstone Farms, Curryville, MO (repeat offender)  Puppies with bloody stools; excessive feces and underweight/sick dogs found year after year.
  • Ellen Roberts, Rocky Top K-9s, West Plains, MO (repeat offender)  Sick or injured dogs found 4 years in a row.
  • Donald Schrage, Rabbit Ridge Kennel, Edina, MO (repeat offender)  Violations have spanned 2 decades.
  • Angela L. Smith, Family Lane Pets, Elkland, MO  Received official warning from USDA for bulldog with open wounds, puppies with loose stools and vomiting bulldog.
  • Josh L. Souza, Chevorlet Ranch [sic], Phillipsburg, MO (repeat offender)  Dog went months without vet care even after owner was advised to get her treatment; violations found at 22 different USDA inspections.
  • Allen Strenke and Jerry McClure, Jerrens Kennel, Grant City, MO (repeat offender)  Small dog died after dilapidated cages allowed dogs to mix and fight.
  • Donna Taber, Jet Kennels, Wasola, MO  Underweight Bichon had "easily palpable" ribs; other dogs had paw injury, dental and eye disease.
  • Joyce Walters, Select Pets, Anderson, MO  Dog without water stood on hind legs and paw at enclosure door as water was carried over, then drank profusely.
  • Deborah Warren, Misty Dew Kennels, Pierce City, MO  One puppy found motionless and one deceased; received official warning from USDA for lask of adequate veterinary care.
  • Marilyn Williams (aka Marilyn Shepard), Williams Kennel, Ava, MO  Underweight, sick and/or injured dogs found by state inspectors 4 years in a row.


What you can do to stop the cruelty and put an end to puppy mills:
  1. Do not buy puppies from pet stores, online or at flea markets. Instead, visit the dog breeder and see the parents and the conditions in which they live.  Or adopt from an animal shelter or rescue. 
  2. Do not shop at pet stores that sell puppies supplied by puppy mills.
  3. Support legislation that regulates and reduces breeding of animals.
  4. Educated yourself about puppy mills and spread the word.
  5. Sign the HSUS pledge.

2 comments:

  1. People that run puppy Mills, should be given prison terms.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We don't have pet stores that sell dogs/cats in this area anymore so that isn't thankfully an issue anymore.

    What I think really would be helpful are those who have purchased their animals successfully from responsible breeders would share more about how they researched and verified that those breeders were responsible breeders and not puppy mills.

    While these stories are clearly the most horrific, sadly there are also breeders that have a good front, but if you don't do your homework you may find they are in fact a puppy mill. The place they show the animals you are buying sadly isn't always the place the dogs are bred and raised until they are ready to be "shown" to the public. People who are trying to do the right thing still end up helping promote what they were trying to avoid.

    It is hard to get people to talk about how to go about doing this responsibly. I was at a rescue event last weekend and people literally whispered that their dogs weren't rescues they used a breeder. They were afraid of being ostracized by the rest of the community. One woman I spoke with gives back to the community by fostering rescue dogs. However, she wants to raise her dogs from puppies for show/agility. I respect that. I also suspect she has much valuable knowledge to share with others like herself who want a puppy or younger dog and thus need to know how to find a qualified responsible breeder and not fall into the hands of a puppy mill breeder. I would much rather have an open conversation about how to find responsible breeders than have those who know too shamed to speak, thus resulting in the very situation those hoping to end puppy mills want to prevent.

    ReplyDelete

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