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October 9, 2008

Animal rescue continues

67 ‘puppy mill’ animals receiving care

By Sue Loughlin

The 52 dogs removed from a rural Sullivan County “puppy mill” on Wednesday have received initial medical treatment and have been transported to new, temporary homes at humane and rescue organizations, a representative of the Humane Society of the United States said.

A total of 67 animals, including 10 horses, four cats and one goat, were removed because they were in urgent need of care, veterinarians and HSUS representatives determined as part of an Indiana State Police investigation into alleged animal neglect.

Many of the dogs suffered from medical conditions such as open sores and severe skin conditions, according to HSUS representatives. Some were malnourished, and many were flea-infested.

“All of them have medical conditions … they are doing as well as can be expected,” Anne Sterling, HSUS Indiana state director, said Thursday at the Sullivan County 4H Fairgrounds, where an emergency shelter was set up.

All of the animals were going to shelters and not-for-profit groups, where they will be adopted out, Sterling said.

“We have [temporary] homes for all the animals,” she said. “The goal was to get them placed as quickly as possible.”

State Police and several support agencies converged on the northwest Sullivan home Wednesday morning. They found more than 200 animals at the rural Fairbanks property, including about 150 dogs.

Last week, State Police received a complaint that the animals were in poor health, underfed and living in squalid conditions. Initial reports indicated as many as 300 dogs were at the site.

The owner of the animals voluntarily gave up permanent custody of the 67 animals, which were turned over to HSUS.

The woman, who faces a possible charge of animal neglect, could not be reached for comment Thursday and declined to comment to media Wednesday.

Initially, the animals were taken to the fairgrounds, where veterinarians gave them medical attention.

Michael Staub, a veterinarian and medical director of the rescue effort, described what he saw at the Fairbanks property as “pretty atrocious.”

Cages were full of animal waste, and there was a strong ammonia smell from urine. “It wasn’t clean,” he said.

Most of the dogs had skin parasite problems including fleas and sarcoptic mange. A few dogs were malnourished.

“It’s just a situation where she’s raising these dogs like livestock, and dogs are not livestock,” Staub said.

Dogs want human contact, Staub said. Keeping them locked up under poor conditions for breeding is not only physically damaging to them, but psychologically damaging, too, Staub said.

The hardest part “was having to leave the ones behind,” Staub said.

Under Indiana law, the animals could be removed only if they were deemed to be in need of urgent care, Watts said.

“We had to leave a lot of animals behind” [at the Fairbanks property], Sterling said. “We need stronger laws in Indiana on the regulation of breeding facilities — puppy mills. We don’t have any laws on that at all. And we also need a stronger [animal] cruelty code.”

She urged concerned citizens to contact their legislators and ask for tougher laws to protect animals. Sterling said she will work with legislators to propose such legislation.

The woman who operated the “puppy mill” breeds the dogs for sale, Sterling said. At puppy mills, parent dogs “spend their whole lives just producing litter after litter of puppies.”

The puppies aren’t necessarily the ones that suffer because they may be sold to good homes.

The animals that really suffer are the breeding parents. “They are the ones that are kept in cages their entire lives,” Sterling said.

State Police have completed their investigation and will submit a final report consisting of humane society, veterinarian and ISP reports to the Sullivan County Prosecutor, said Sgt. Joe Watts, Indiana State Police spokesman.

The prosecutor will decide if any criminal charges are filed, and the process could take up to two weeks, Watts said.

State Police were assisted by HSUS and several other organizations, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The dogs had to be taken to other communities because Sullivan County has no shelter, Sterling said.

Soon, a humane shelter will be constructed in Sullivan on North Section Street, said Gene Boes, co-chair of the Humane Society of Sullivan County. Currently, “There is no place to take the animals,” he said.

Out of the 67 animals, 31 dogs and four cats were taken to the Humane Society of Missouri, which provided equipment and staff to assist in Wednesday’s investigation/rescue effort.

Other animals were taken to Bloomington Animal Care and Control and Paul Warner Rescue in Paris, Ill.

Kathleen Summers, deputy director of the HSUS Stop Puppy Mills campaign, was in Sullivan to help set up the temporary shelter.

Puppy mills — commercial and typically unregulated breeding operations that put profit above the health and welfare of the animals — are a serious problem in the United States, Summers said.

At puppy mills, parent dogs are bred over and over for profit, and generally they are continually confined, she said.

“Consumers like to think that the Humane Society can come in and just shut down all the puppy mills. But most of them are legal,” she said.

In general, breeders who sell directly to the public, for the most part, are not regulated, she said. When they sell wholesale to pet stores, they must be licensed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Keeping dogs continually confined is not illegal in Indiana, she said. If conditions become “horrific enough,” she said, then there are laws that protect animals from cruelty, Summers said.

The public can play a role, she said. When they want to buy a dog, they should first consider adoption from a humane shelter, she said.

If they choose to buy a dog, it’s important to screen the breeder in person and visit the facility, she said.

When people buy dogs at pet stores, over the Internet or through classified ads — without visiting the seller’s home — they may inadvertently be supporting puppy mills, she said.

“There are thousands of puppy mills in the country,” Summers said.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.

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