Excerpts from "USDA Breeder" Inspection Reports (2003-2006)

At time of publication, all of the breeders and dealers cited below were still licensed by the USDA, despite repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

On a Missouri breeder (Brandy Cheney, S & S Family Puppies) who supplies puppies to Petland stores:

"Outside the pen was noted a dead adult female boxer, covered with a feed sack, who had died the day before. This dog appeared very thin. [Name redacted] stated she had been treating this dog, but no medical records were available."

"Several boxers were found with skin problems and yellow matted eyes. Hair loss was noted on female #594 and #580. … One dog was observed scratching. A dog in an adjacent pen also appeared to be affected.  [Name redacted] stated that she had been treating them for mange but it was not working. No medical records were available on these dogs."

"The temperatures in the Miller building [were] 34 to 39 degrees Fahrenheit measured by laser. No bedding was present to offset this temperature drop. There are two functional gas wall heaters present at this time but only the pilots were burning."

On a Wisconsin breeder (Wallace Havens, Puppy Haven Kennel) who has been widely publicized in the media as the "inventor" of the Puggle and other trendy cross-breeds:

Dec. 8, 2005: "At the time of this inspection, Building 4 was 44.3 degrees Fahrenheit and Building 5 was 45.0 degrees Fahrenheit. The dogs are housed on damp or wet concrete. There are no mats or other means of conserving body heat. … Number of animals affected: 430."

Feb. 24, 2005: Repeat NCI [Non-Compliance Identified]: Seventy-five percent of the right eye of the Pug with Avid # 073-102-854 is dry and necrotic-looking. The Bichon with Avid #068-789-875 has hair loss and skin lesions. The affected areas are on the dog's left side and across its shoulders. The condition covers approximately 25% of the animal's body. Neither of these animals has been seen by the attending veterinarian."

Feb. 24, 2005: "The temperature at the time of this inspection was 2.3 degrees F. The temperature at the time of the exit review was -3 degrees F. Sixteen of the outdoor enclosures have heating pads to compensate for the cold temperatures. Sixty-two of the outdoor enclosures have a stemmy hay used as bedding. There is not a sufficient quantity of this material in the den boxes … Number of animals affected: 352."

On a dog breeder in Missouri (Wilma Jinson, Jinson Kennel) who continues to have her license renewed despite serious and repeated violations:

"There was a lab female with 7 puppies that was very thin. Her ribs were visible. There was no fresh food in the pen … and the dog was digging in the gravel trying to get to old food that had spilled and was wet."

 "There was a severe rodent and pest problem present at the facility. There were many small holes in the ground adjacent to almost every section of runs and in front of most runs and the feed area of the facility. There were droppings of rodents in the storage buildings [and] there were flies throughout the facility."

"The coats were so overgrown that there [were] mats all over the dogs –especially around the heads and faces of the dogs."

September 2005: "The [water] pans were sitting in the sun. There was gunk floating in the pans – some greenish colored and some brownish colored. The water was not clear or clean appearing."

January 2005: "All outdoor water pans were frozen solid. There was no fresh water available for the dogs outside at all. It was 1 pm at the start of the inspection [and] the animals had not been provided with fresh water at all this day. … This affects 126 dogs."

"The temperature at the start of the inspection was 22 degrees F at 1:00 pm [January 6th, 2005]. It was 12 degrees F in town earlier that morning. There was a dusting of snow on the ground and snow flurries were still falling. There was little or no bedding in the outdoor dog houses. The plastic floors were visible in about half of the houses. There were at least 4 houses without any bedding material at all."

On a Missouri auction service (Dr. Jerome Schmidt, Top of the Ozark Auction) that trades in "commercially bred" (aka puppy mill) dogs:

June 2005: "Upon reaching the northeastern side of the animal holding area, the heat became very noticeable. These conditions caused me [the inspector] to become very uncomfortable and to break out in a sweat. At this time I measured the ambient temperature, relative humidity and the heat index which revealed high readings. The animals were observed displaying various behaviors that could be associated with discomfort such as panting, laying about in a lethargic matter and pacing restlessly … The conditions present during the inspection presented a threat to the contained animals' health and well-being."

"[A temperature reading of 86 to 87 degrees] was taken … Along this wall there are a total of 28 enclosures containing a total of 36 animals. … None of these animals had any water."

June 2004: During the inspection process we were in the rear of the auction facility taking photos of non-compliant items. The licensee screamed at us to "stop'" then aggressively approached us. The licensee stated I could not take photos of the facility. I tried to ask the licensee if he was sure this was what he wanted to do as it is a violation of the Animal Welfare Act. … I told the licensee I did not want to argue with him when he again interrupted me and yelled at us "GET OUT."  … Because of these actions we were unable to complete the inspection process. The licensee interfered with the course of the inspection by verbally abusing us and demanding we leave the facility."

June 2004: "Repeat NCI [Non-Compliance Identified]: …The animals were panting heavily and behaving in a lethargic manner. There were empty water receptacles in a few of the enclosures but no water had been provided to the animals … At 11:14 am [the temperature] was recorded at 86.8 degrees F with humidity at 85 percent. … Affects 222 animals."

March 2004:  "The indoor ambient temperature was documented to be 41 degrees F at 11:20 am. Throughout the inspection a total of six animals were seen to be visibly shivering. … In one enclosure there was a shaved 6-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, #155, that was seen shivering. In another enclosure there was a three month old Yorkshire Terrier puppy, #161, which was also shivering. There was an eight month old Boston Terrier, #208, that was curled in a ball and shivering."

On an Arkansas breeder (Alta Madewell, M & M Toy Kennel) with 200 dogs and puppies on the premises:

February 2004: "[Name redacted] had expired medication on hand. There was one multi-dose bottle of parvovirus vaccine that expired November 2003. There were three packages of single-dose bordatella vaccine. … This affects 147 animals."

"Dog #242, a female beagle, had a baseball size mass on its lateral right neck just below the ear. There was a lesion with a scab at the top of the mass ... Any injured animal must be examined by a licensed veterinarian and health records must be maintained. This dog must be taken to a veterinarian.”

Posted May 31, 2007.