189 English Shepherds Seized From Breeder
A raid at the Shady Lane Kennels, in Montana, resulted in 189 English Shepherds being rescued. Authorities also found 10 frozen dog carcasses and another dead dog near the breeder’s bed.
Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney Mark Murphy said a decision on whether to file charges against breeder Linda Kapsa will be made sometime next week.
Meanwhile, authorities were seeking tips into the fate of 50 pugs recently seen at Kapsa’s Shady Lane Kennels but which are now missing.
The dogs seized Tuesday in Ballantine – many of them covered with fleas and feces and at least six that appeared gravely ill – were being held as evidence at the county fairgrounds in Billings.
A decision on whether to file charges? I’m not sure what the question is, if mistreatment and animal abuse isn’t enough to file charges immediately against the owner what about the fact the same kennel was raided twice before and 13 dogs were found dead.
“The law of the West is you don’t abuse your animals,” said County Commissioner Jim Reno. “Leaving little puppies out in below-zero weather, outside, without obvious food or shelter – that doesn’t make it here.”
Well, that’s good. But I ask again, why haven’t those charges been filed? Let’s hope Linda Kaspa will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
* The very handsome boy above is Caleb.
Law of the West? Are these people whackydo? That woman deserves jail time and to forfeit assets to support the dogs who were lucky enough to survive her mistreatment until they can be rehabilitated and rehomed. Here is the Yellowstone County attorney’s email address:
dpaxinos@co.yellowstone.mt.gov
These cases sicken me. Maybe if enough people write and express their opinions directly, we can assure action is taken and justice served?
I just adopted a dog from Linda Kapsa a couple of months ago. As soon as I got the dog it was obvious that she was running a bad operation. The dog was scarred, abused and needed a $400.00 surgery that would become fatal if the procedure was not done immediatly. This is a terrible women who she be put in a prison!
The Gazette ran a story in early December about the first animals seized from the property and many of us have been waiting for them to go back and get the rest of the dogs.
We have ran a few updates since Tuesday. I write a pet blog for the paper and will continue to post updates as we get them. Please check out the Petology blog or billingsgazette.com for more information on the story.
I’m glad the dogs are safe and being cared for.
Law of the West..it should be the law period.
That is sickening. We hope that she goes to jail.
here’s a link to the gazette stories, photos and video via the Petology blog.
They have more detail than the ap story, along with photos and video.
This is such a sad, sad story. How come this woman was not arrested the first time that dogs under her care were found dead because of abuse and neglect? What is happening to our justice system? Isn’t the life of an animal worth something anymore?
what the hell is wrong with those people? what she didnt kill enough dogs the first time? so you gave her a second chance? and look what she did! the puke should go to jail and rot!! and pay money for the other dogs that are sick and had to live in horrible conditions!! Any one who treats their animals like they are nothing! should be treated the same way! Animals are just like babies they need to be loved,fed,kept dry,taken to the vet when sick,taught right from wrong! and everything else that goes along with having a pet! Pets have feeling! just like humans! people that abuse their pets make me sick!! And I dont feel sorry for them at all! I feel sorry and sad for what they have put the pets thru! because if any of those lowlife pukes had any feelings maybe we wouldnt be hearing about all the sick things that those kind of people do to their pets!! I,am glad that good people keep their eyes,ears and hearts open to help with the animals
Thank you for posting about this!
As the owner of an English Shepherd, I have been following this story avidly. From what I understand, the unfortunately failed to follow correct procedures the last time they tried to shut this lady down, which allowed her to sue the county for a sizable amount of money.
Apparently they finally got enough complaints from puppy buyers to try again, and are being very careful this time around. The dogs cannot be adopted out until Kapsa releases them to the county or they are legally removed from her care. If she chooses not to release them, legal proceedings could take months.
In the meantime, these dogs need socialization and care. According to the Billings Gazette, they have enough food for now, but are looking for volunteers, blankets/towels, and other donations to help with care:
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/01/01/news/local/24-kennel.txt
National English Shepherd Rescue (NESR) has also started a fund dedicated to helping these dogs find new homes.
http://www.nesr.info/
There are way too many people that start out thinking they are doing a “good thing” that soon gets out of hand because they are inexperienced or just plain stupid. Then there are people who maliciously think animals are objects for commerce and don’t care how they are treated. Stories like this really reinforce that there needs to be stricter oversight on animal breeding operations so horrible things like this won’t happen… unfortunately, this kind of thing is very low on the priorities of politicians and will stay so until animal lovers come together en masse to voice that they want legislation preventing such things.
Heres a good site you might have been on.
We have to do something about these breeders. We need to force the legislature to adopt more laws governing puppy mill breeders; laws that have “teeth” in them and allow for proscecution to the fullest extent!! I am still praying for the outcome of the puppy mill breeder here in Tarpon Springs, Fl. who has 46 counts of animal abuse filed against her..it is still in the court system (since April of 08) and this will tell us if (after much public outcry and thousands of signed signatures) the politicians actually listen to us. I always thought that America was suppose to be governed by the people, and for the people. I sure hope I am not wrong!!
Bless the poor babies from Montana!!!
[...] again, Horst and Dogster has brought an interesting story to light about the seizing of a couple hundred English Shepherds at a breeder’s farm in [...]
i am in 8th grade and i am doing an article on the puppy mill. if you have any info on the courts hearing and any other info please send any info by the 6th.