Pet Delivery Driver Charged With Cruelty
I want to thank Debbie for sending me this story and helping to expose another animal abuser, let’s hope Clayton gets what he deserves.
WEBSTER - A Missouri man who delivers animals to pet stores was arraigned Thursday on animal cruelty charges after police rescued what they said were weak, limp and sick puppies from his van.
John T. Clayton, 44, of Missouri told authorities he left Missouri Monday night, and the puppies had not been walked since then, police said.
Police said 27 puppies were crammed into small cages, surrounded by animal waste, filth and flies, in a locked box truck parked in front of a Main Street pet store Wednesday afternoon.
In Dudley District Court Thursday, Mr. Clayton pleaded not guilty to the cruelty charges. Bail was set at $1,000.
Before his arrest, Mr. Clayton had just delivered 10 puppies to Elite Puppies, 172 Main St., and had delivered nine puppies to Laughlin Kennel in Oxford, according to police. He may have dropped off puppies at other New England locations as well.
The case unfolded after two people drove by the delivery box truck when it was parked in front of Elite Puppies on Main Street about 2:45 p.m. They heard barking dogs and feared the dogs might be distressed. They flagged down a police cruiser and called an animal rescue organization.
Police Sgt. Michaela N. Kelley went to Elite Puppies and spoke with employees.
“From there, it went downhill for Mr. Clayton,” Sgt. Thomas V. Ralph said in an interview Thursday. Swarms of flies surrounded cages filled with puppies in poor health, according to police reports, and there was animal waste in and around the small cages.
Some puppies appeared to limp, and one puppy was completely unresponsive, according to police.
There appeared to be about five puppies in each cage. When she saw the condition of the puppies, Sgt. Kelley contacted the Animal Rescue League of Boston and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to assist in her investigation. She also called Webster EMS and paramedics to check on the puppies.
About half of the puppies were initially taken to the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Grafton, and the others were taken to Webster Lake Veterinary Hospital on Thompson Road. The 10 puppies delivered to Elite Puppies remained in quarantine in the back of the store, according to police.
The puppies were being delivered via Puppy Ship, a Missouri-based company.
Puppy Ship is a USDA-licensed company, according to Mr. Davis. He said there are strict guidelines for providing animals with adequate water, food, ventilation, adequately sized cages, and clean conditions. He said Mr. Clayton is a longtime driver for Puppy Ship.
“All these things we followed and we try to go above and beyond,” Mr. Davis said. “We are inspected on a regular basis, and we have never had an issue.”
According to authorities the puppies appeared to be about five weeks old. I could not believe dogs that young are being driven across the country to be delivered to pet stores. I personally don’t believe that pet stores should sell puppies and find it appalling that they accept dogs so young. As for Laughlin Kennel’s, all you need to do is search online to read about the controversy surrounding them. Not only are they breeders they also broker 30 different kinds of dogs, which may explain the puppies they were buying.
It sounds like the authorities should be investigating more than just Mr. Clayton.
* Pic courtesy WEBSTER HEALTH BOARD
Thank dog for those Loving citizens calling the authorities. I hope they get the books thrown at them but we shall see. Ugggh makes Mom shudder at all the other poor pups who go unnoticed each day in these conditions.
To me it sounds like either the inspector or inspectors of Puppy Ship is not doing a good job on their inspections and keeping up with this company who ships puppies across the US. For this incident, they should be fined and Mr Clayton should be fired. It sounds like a money thing to me. And the puppies is paying for it. It is appaulling to even read of this man doing this.
No puppies should be put through this. Just confirms why I do not patronize any store that sells cats or dogs and if you buy a dog from a pet store you are a fool!!!!
Not all things are as bad as the media points them out to be. Many puppies have good loving homes thanks to these people who deliver puppies such as the missouri based company. Im not saying that this driver should not be punished if those puppies were in the condition the media says. Let GOD be the judge of all mankind. Let the law enforcement enforce the the law set on such companies.
We live not far fro that place, or rather those places. Our mom once went to that Laughlin Kennel when she was looking for a little girl chihuahua. they told her they had a boy one but she couldn’t see him unless she was planning to buy him. She knew right then that they were not honest dog people and left fast with a few nasty words. You go Mom! Imagine 5 week old babies leaving their mothers just barely walking and eating to be put in a sticky hot truck. those poor babies! *tears fall from eyes*
I could not imagine pups that young without their mother! That is appalling. Mr. Clayton is not the only guilty one.
You know, just today at the shopping mall near me there were chihuahua puppies in the window that looked way too young to be away from their mother yet. I’m guessing I’m not the only person to be enraged. There were two signs in the window. One of them said the puppies won’t be available for selling for at least another week. Another, more telling sign, said that all the four puppies were being fostered (Oh yeah? What the he** were they doing in the pet store WINDOW then!?) and that the RSPCA were pleased with the situation as it currently stood. So I’m thinking people have already complained to the RSPCA (same as ASPCA) here in Perth. Poor little souls.
Thank goodness those people walking by were kind/smart enough to do something! Many probably walked on bye! How sad these pups were removed from their moms so early! But you know…the younger they are the cuter they are, and the longer they will stay cute! Too bad many people think that way! When will this stop???
This would stop completely if people would go to the SPCA where they live & rescue groups to adopt our 4 legged family member. Kudos to the people that got involved to help save these poor dogs.
first off how do we even know any of this is true?
I have “media” stories get it completely wrong.
maybe we shouldn’t judge this guy just b/c someone tells us we should.
Sorry to say I’m from MO and this is common place, a couple of years ago the Hunt Corp who delivers puppies from across the country to Petlands, had a truck over turn, in the Kansas City area. There were 100’s of puppies in the back of the semi, this was in the summer. MO has very hot and humid summers, if I recall correctly several of the pups died due to heat exposure.
John Clayton works for Puppy Ship LLC of Monett, Mo. Mo is one of the worse for puppy mills,I’m sorry to say. Now, I see that they are breaking up dog fighting rings. I’m ashamed at times to say I live here. I’m very involved in legislation on animal cruelty and neglect laws and lobbying in Jeff City to get them passed.
Yes, Questionmedia it is very true the media did not sensationalize on this one.
Oh ok well if you say so Nadiya KC Dog Advocates than it MUST be true. Were you there?
I believe I worked for that company, although it was named something differnet at that time, and I think it may have a different owner now.
Anyways, I used to have the New England route, making deliveries to Laughlin Kennel and Elite Puppies. I will say that all the puppies are vet checked before going on the trucks. Also, they were not allowed to be transported unless they were at least 8 weeks old back then. I would leave out monday night, and not have some of the puppies to the destinations until Wednesday or Thursday. It was my job as the driver and Pet tech to take care of those puppies 24/7. I stopped every 2-3 hours to feed and water, not to mention, clean the dirty cages.
When leaving the company and taking on the responsibility of however many puppies are in the truck/van, it is exactly that, the driver’s/pet Tech’s responsibility to take care of the puppies. Wether I left with 40 puppies or 200, I gave them all the same amount of attention.
I gaurentee you this, every puppy on those trucks are under stress and depressed. They have all been torn away from the mother and the sibling’s, and placed in a moving vehical for several days, and no matter how comfortable you try to make the cages (with blankets and stuffed animals) those babies still bounce around in the cages, and suffer from natural depression.
I believe it is both the driver and the company at fault. The company needs to make sure they are not having the driver rush so bad that there is not time to clean the cages and tend to the puppies. The drivers need to make sure they take care of those puppies in every way needed, no matter if the company owner or the pet store owner are yelling at them to hurry and just drive.
The puppies were more important to me than my job, and the sell of the puppy was more important to the company I worked for than me or the care for the puppies.
That was my favorite job ever, and it helped that the Pet Stores would request that I deliver the puppies because they knew I would take good care of the puppies (and if they were sick by the time I got them to the destination, I would not sign them over to the petstore, they traveled back with me and I would keep them by me so I could take good care of them until I got them back and to the Vet. However, if the puppy seemed too sick to travel, we would set it up and sign paperwork for the puppy to stay and be treated asap before anything else.)
I will say, at the time that I was taking puppies to Laughlin Kennel, it seemed like a very good place, and I am not a fan of breeders because I do not agree of how most of them treat the dogs. It was very clean and updated, and they seemed to be very loving to the dogs once they were brought in. Not to mention, they would check over every puppy when it was brought in, to make sure it was healthy and taken care of on the trip, they were upset if it was brought in with a little doggie poo on it’s leg.
I hope this gets taken care of the way it should. In the mean time, I’ll keep praying for the puppies.
Aaah…poor puppies! To be torn away from their mother that young-that is despicable.
which means deserving hatred and contempt.