Missouri Dirty Dozen Puppy Mills: Urine and Feces Raining Down on the Dogs

Background:

Late last year, researchers at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) spent weeks poring over state and federal inspection reports, investigators’ photographs, and enforcement records to compile a list of some of the worst puppy mills in Missouri, known as “Missouri’s Dirty Dozen.” The report included direct quotes detailing horrific care violations documented in the facilities’ federal and/or state kennel inspection reports The violations included thin-coated breeds like Italian greyhounds found shivering in the cold in temperatures as low as 9 degrees, dogs with open, oozing or bleeding sores, underweight dogs with their entire skeletal structures showing, and sick or dying puppies who had not been treated by a vet.

March 9, 2011, the HSUS released an update to this report.  The majority of the Missouri Dirty Dozen kennels are still state licensed and in operation.  On the same day, the Missouri Senate voted 20 - 14 to repeal Prop B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act.  The Missouri House will vote on this issue soon.

If there is any doubt in your mind that MO Prop B, as written and passed by voters last November, is needed and provides essential protection for dogs, please read below for details from the Dirty Dozen update.

Windsong Kennels, Shannon Plymell in Pattonsburg, MO

This facility's USDA license was cancelled in January 2011, but the operator still holds a 2011 Missouri state kennel license.  As detailed in the original HSUS Dirty Dozen report, federal and state authorities have cited Windsong Kennels repeatedly for severe animal welfare issues, including underweight and sick animals, dogs found in frigid temperatures without adequate protection from the cold, inadequate shelter and temperature control, and housing in disrepair.  Violations also included dogs requiring vet care, dogs without adequate space to turn around and move freely, dogs in stacked cages that allowed tyhe urine and feces from dogs in the upper enclosures to rain down on the dogs in lower tiers, and issues with substandard housing, incurring more than 21 pages of USDA violations since July 2008.

Plymell continued to accumulate USDA violations as recently as January 2011.  Even after she was listed in the HSUS Dirty Dozen report, she was apparently unable to unwilling to raise the standard of care at her facility;  federal inspectors cited the kennel in January 2011 for failure to provide adequarte protection from the wind and rain, failure to provide adequate bedding when temperatures had been and were expected to be, below 35 degrees F, and excessively chewed housing.

Although she cancelled her USDA license in January, Plymell is still state licensed as of February 2011.  Now that the facility is no longer USDA licensed, Windsong Kennels cannot legally sell puppies to brokers or pet stores.  However, as long as its Missouri state kennel license is current, Plymell can resume or continue breeding and selling dogs directly to the public at any time.

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Missouri Dirty Dozen Puppy Mills: B & B Kennel, Beverly Fields Dogs in Freezng Cold

Background:

Late last year, researchers at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) spent weeks poring over state and federal inspection reports, investigators’ photographs, and enforcement records to compile a list of some of the worst puppy mills in Missouri, known as “Missouri’s Dirty Dozen.” The report included direct quotes detailing horrific care violations documented in the facilities’ federal and/or state kennel inspection reports The violations included thin-coated breeds like Italian greyhounds found shivering in the cold in temperatures as low as 9 degrees, dogs with open, oozing or bleeding sores, underweight dogs with their entire skeletal structures showing, and sick or dying puppies who had not been treated by a vet.

March 9, 2011, the HSUS released an update to this report.  The majority of the Missouri Dirty Dozen kennels are still state licensed and in operation.  On the same day, the Missouri Senate voted 20 - 14 to repeal Prop B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act.  The Missouri House will vote on this issue soon.

If there is any doubt in your mind that MO Prop B, as written and passed by voters last November, is needed and provides essential protection for dogs, please read below for details from the Dirty Dozen update.

B & B Kennel, Beverly Fields
Beverly Fields, B & B Kennel in Galt, MO, had her USDA license canceled in December 2010, but still holds an active Missouri state kennel license in 2011.  Fields, an early contributor to MoFed PAC, a group that opposed Prop B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, had good reason to fear better oversight of the kennel industry.  Her record includes a long list of violations for inadequate veterinary care and dogs with inadequate protection from the cold, including some found outside in temperatures as low as 9 degrees, according to federal and state inspection reports.  Serious care vilations included dogs with untreated injuries, oozing sores, inadequate space, dogs caked in feces, and many violations for housing in severe disrepair and sanitation problems,.

Although her USDA license was canceled in December, Beverly Fields is still state licensed as of Febru8ary 2011.  Now that she no longer holds a USDA license, Fields cannot legally sell puppies to brokers or pet stores.  However, as long as her Missouri state kennel license is current, Fields can resume or continue breeding and selling dogs directly to the public at any time.

Missouri Dirty Dozen: Puppy Mill Linked to MO Lawmaker Attacking Prop B

MO Rep Jason Smith

 

 

 

 

Background:

Late last year, researchers at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) spent weeks poring over state and federal inspection reports, investigators’ photographs, and enforcement records to compile a list of some of the worst puppy mills in Missouri, known as “Missouri’s Dirty Dozen.” The report included direct quotes detailing horrific care violations documented in the facilities’ federal and/or state kennel inspection reports The violations included thin-coated breeds like Italian greyhounds found shivering in the cold in temperatures as low as 9 degrees, dogs with open, oozing or bleeding sores, underweight dogs with their entire skeletal structures showing, and sick or dying puppies who had not been treated by a vet.

March 9, 2011, the HSUS released an update to this report.  The majority of the Missouri Dirty Dozen kennels are still state licensed and in operation.  On the same day, the Missouri Senate voted 20 - 14 to repeal Prop B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act.  The Missouri House will vote on this issue soon.

If there is any doubt in your mind that MO Prop B, as written and passed by voters last November, is needed and provides essential protection for dogs, please read below for details from the Dirty Dozen update.

Smith's Kennel, Mary Ann Smith, Salem, MO

Smith's Kennel remains both USDA and MDA licensed despite ongoing repeat violations.  In fact, they have a history of repeat USDA violations stretching back more than a decade, including citations for unsanitary conditions;  dogs exposed to below-freezing temperatures or excessive heat without adequate shelter from the weather;  dogs without enough cage space to turn and move around freely;  pest and rodent infestations; injured and bleeding dogs, dogs with loose, bloody stools who had not been treated by a vet, and much more.

Mary Ann Smith's son, now Republican Majority Whip Representative Jason Smith, was once listed in Missouri state records as a co-owner of her kennel and has been an outspoken opponent of Proposition B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act and other animal welfare bills.

A reporter for Fox2 news recently dubbed the link a "potential conflict of interest."  When Fox 2 requested permission to visit Smith's Kennel in February 2011, the reporter was denied access.

The HSUS has received complaints about sick puppies sold by Smith's Kennel, including a Bulldog who was sold through a Petland store in 2008 and still suffers from congenital health problems that require daily care.

The kennel's most recent USDA inspection was in June 2010, when the owner was cited for a repeat violation for two dogs that had untreated veterinary problems, a repeat violation for housing in disrepair, and sanitation problems.  According to news reports, Smith's most recent Missouri state inspection also lists some recent violations.  HSUS researchers were not able to obtain a copy in time for this Missouri Dirty Dozen update..

Missouri Dirty Dozen Puppy Mills: HSUS Close Up on S & S Family Puppies, Circle B Farms LLC, Brandi Cheney

Background:

Late last year, researchers at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) spent weeks poring over state and federal inspection reports, investigators’ photographs, and enforcement records to compile a list of some of the worst puppy mills in Missouri, known as “Missouri’s Dirty Dozen.” The report included direct quotes detailing horrific care violations documented in the facilities’ federal and/or state kennel inspection reports The violations included thin-coated breeds like Italian greyhounds found shivering in the cold in temperatures as low as 9 degrees, dogs with open, oozing or bleeding sores, underweight dogs with their entire skeletal structures showing, and sick or dying puppies who had not been treated by a vet.

March 9, 2011, the HSUS released an update to this report.  The majority of the Missouri Dirty Dozen kennels are still state licensed and in operation.  On the same day, the Missouri Senate voted 20 - 14 to repeal Prop B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act.  The Missouri House will vote on this issue soon.

If there is any doubt in your mind that MO Prop B, as written and passed by voters last November, is needed and provides essential protection for dogs, please read below for details from the Dirty Dozen update.

S & S Family Puppies, Circle B Farms LLC, Brandi Cheney

Brandi Cheney in Milan,Missouri retains both federal and state kennel licenses in 2011 despite ongoing animal care violations.  In fact, she's opened a new facility in Huntsville with a different license number.

As detailed in the HSUS Missouri's Dirty Dozen Puppy Mills report (see below), Brandi Cheney and her relative and business partern, Diana Stephenson, own S & S Family puppies in Milan, MO (USDA # 43-B-0435).  This facility has accumulated more than 500 pages of federal enforcement records detailing repeated, severe violations of the Animal Welfare Act over a period of several years.

The USDA enforcement records for them include photos of dogs with oozing or encrusted eyes, dogs with bleeding lacerations, puppies attempting to stand on wide-spaced wire flooring, an underweight and "unresponsive" poodle, and some dogs so badly matted with feces-encrusted hair that it was difficult to determine what gender or breed they were.

USDA inspection reports detail repeated Animal Welfare Act violations for dogs exposed to the freezing cold without adequate weather protection, problems with seriously ill, injured or malnourished dogs not being treated by a vet, housing problems, filthy, feces-laden conditions and more.

Shortly after the initial Missouri's Dirty Dozen report was released in October 2010, former customers of Brandi Cheney filed a lawsuit in Randolph County Circuit Court, accusing Cheney and Stephenson of selling them sick and dying puppies.  The lawsuit is currently making its way through the court system.

Yet despite her dismal history, Brandi Cheney has been granted a second jUSDA license under a different business name and license number.  Both the older and newer facilities linked to Brandi Cheney continue to be cited for repeated violations of basic animal care.  the new kennel, Circle B Farms LLC, is in Huntsville, MO and the new USDA license number is 43-B-3698.

A January 4, 2011 USDA inspection  of Circle B Farms uncovered a number of new, severe violations, including temperatures inside the kennel registering as high as 109.5 degrees F., failure to provide adequate lighting or electricity, and failure to provide adequate cage space.

In addition, Cheney's name continues to be associated with S & S Family Puppies along with Diana Stephenson.  A November 16, 2010 inspection of S & S Family Puppies resulted in seven pages of violations, including several dogs in dire need of veterinary care.  These dogs included a male Husky who was "observed laying in front of a shelter and was reluctant to rise."  when roused, the Husky "walked very gingerly and was reluctant to put pressure on all four paws" and the inspectors observed that his paw pads were "cracked, swoolen and reddened."  The Husky als had open sores on both of his ears.  He had not been treated by a vet.  In addition, inspectors found a female French Bulldog with a largbe open lesion that was "reddened and oozing."  The licensee reportedly stated that she had previously noticed the lesion, but had not contacted her veterinarian about it.

Other violations include a Japanese Chin with a leg injury, a Shiba Inue "scratching, biting and itching almost continuously," puppies with darrhea, dogs with matted fur, housing with broken metal ande protruding wires on the cages, accumulations of dirt and grime, broken drainpipes causing waste buildup outside the kennels, strong fecal and ammonia odor4, dogs with their feet passing through broken wire floors, dirty feeders, and excessive feces.

A follow-up report indicated the Husky was later euthanized due to "old age."  The USDA has amassed over 500 pages of Federal enforcement records on this licensed dog breeder.