Hundreds Of Dogs Removed From Puppy Mill
A puppy mill in Mt. Vernon, Washington has had hundreds of dogs removed in a two part raid.
Nearly 200 dogs were confiscated from two separate kennels south of Mount Vernon after authorities served search warrants for animal cruelty and neglect, Chief Criminal Deputy Will Reichardt of the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office said.
The dogs were mostly Chihuahuas, Shih Tzus, poodles and Yorkshire terriers.
There was also a room that was housing about 20 female dogs that were nursing litters of pups.
About 25 volunteers removed about 150 dogs Wednesday that were evaluated to be in need of better care.
Those dogs were taken to a temporary shelter at the Skagit County Fairgrounds in Mount Vernon or to the homes of volunteers.
Another 40 dogs that were living in small crates, many of which were contaminated with their own feces and urine, were seized from another location on West Big Lake Road, Reichardt said.
The dogs were mostly Australian Shepherds. They are being housed temporarily in private residences of local volunteers until other accommodations can be made.
This is a huge operation, a second raid on the property seized over 300 more dogs.
The animals had been left behind during an earlier seizure at a home in the 16000 block of Mountain View Road.
Two of the 135 dogs seized in the original warrant have tested positive for a potentially deadly intestinal disorder called coccidia, and three more dogs seized Friday are suspected of being infected with it.
The dogs are being moved to the Skagit Valley Fairgrounds for treatment. Then they will be moved to shelters and foster homes.
Animal control officers are asking that anyone who has purchased a dog from the Mountain View kennel belonging to Richard and Marjorie Sundberg to call the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office as this information may be important to their investigation. Call Animal Control officer JoHannah Deterding at 360-336-9450 or e-mail Officer Deterding at johannad@co.skagit.wa.us
The group Saving Pets One at a Time is helping the dogs. People interested in volunteering or donating can find out how at the group’s site.
Also, the Chuckanut Valley Veterinary Clinic is helping the rescued dogs. They can be reached at phone: 360-757-3722 or e-mail: info@chuckanutvet.com.
It’s interesting/puzzling to me. Someone on my local news site (since I live the next county over from Mt. Vernon WA) posted that the breeder of the Aussie’s was actually a reputable breeder and that we shouldn’t lump her situation in with the puppy mill situation. But why would a reputable breeder have 40 dogs? Call me crazy, but that seems a bit excessive? And how ‘reputable’ can that be if the dog were living in their own waste?
Either way, I hope this will be a wake up call to WA not to buy dogs from pet stores! Or a breeder, for that matter, without knowing for sure that the breeder is a GREAT one. I apologize to all the truly reputable breeders on here….but I still think dogs should be saved from the shelters first. I know frustrating it is trying to find the ‘perfect’ dog from a shelter (I’m experiencing that now) but once you find one, it is WELL WORTH the wait!
Btw, most of the puppies seized are the same breed you most frequently find available on petfinder– especially the chihuahuas, to a lesser extent shih tzus (at least here in WA). Sad.
whoops, sorry about the Bold font. Guess I should know what I’m doing with those XHTML tags before I start experimenting with them!
I Agree with you Kathy 100 percent. It’s so sad that people do this to animals. Please, Please if anyone out there is looking for a pet please visit your local shelter these animals need good loving homes.
It’s really makes me angry that this is how some people choose to make a living, by breeding these poor dogs to death and then when there of no more use to them they have them killed or thrown away like garbage. Shame on them.
Maybe, just maybe if everyone continues on the course we are on these puppy mills will stop. There are so many reputable breeders out there if it is a pure bred you seek stick with ones that have a good reputation and stay out of the pet stores. Know the backgrounds of these people and visit them to see how their operation is run. In my personel opinion, visiting your local shelter and saving the life of a loving pet is the very best answer. These animals know their fate and will be forever grateful and their appreciation will forever be shown with their undying love.
It is going to be a total up to 1500 dogs as all are having puppies…..there is and update and places that are asking for help if you would like to:
http://www.komonews.com/news/38281439.html
I just rescued my third a few weeks ago. She is an italian greyhound/jack russell mix named Stella. She came from a grey and jack breeding facility where a male grey got into the kennell of a female jack. Anyway, Stella was planned on being done away with since she was not a purebred.
Lucky for us she has turned into a wonderful member of our pack. And yes, I have pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/agoutloud/sets/72157612328310219/
THIS IS THE SUM OF PURE GREED AND NO HEART I HOPE WHO EVER HAD THIS PUPPY MILL WILL BURN IN HELLL………AND FEEL THE BURNING FLAMES FOREVER….
holey smokes! that’s news to me about them being pregnant! yikes! i’m gonna have to find some way to help out…the picture of the pups on that Komo News page is ADORABLE! It just breaks my heart and makes me so MAD!!!!
This is sickening. We just heard a news report last night on our local channel about another sad situation. Here’s a link to the story:
http://www.katc.com/global/story.asp?s=9736393
Anybody know what I would need to do to adopt on e of the australian shepherds taken from the “reputable” breeder??
aepanda28@hotmail.com
thank you!!