Quad Cities Times Sunday:
Front Page Story on Puppy Mills!!
Good Morning fellow animal welfare advocates!

This is big news! A great article that reveals the clandestine nature of the commercial dog breeding industry was published on the front page of the Sunday QC Times!

See below.

Thank you Stephanie De Pasquale, reporter for the QC Times!!

Let's get some comments going on the newspaper's website!! Use the link in the article title to get to their website.

Be sure to thank Reps. Lykam and Bukta for taking the time to visit these facilities.

Thanks!

Mary LaHay, Director
Iowa Voters for Companion Animals




Lawmakers push to expand Iowa dog breeder oversight

Stephanie De Pasquale Posted: Sunday, September 27, 2009 2:00 am

From the road, all you can see of Mystic Rock Kennels in Keosauqua , Iowa , are five trailers and an old barn on a hill. Trees block the view of the grounds and only one small window is open on one trailer.
The kennel is surrounded by acres of corn, making it difficult to see what happens on the property.
Judy Scearcy, Mystic Rock Kennels owner, wrote that she raises "healthy happy puppies at my home" on her seller profile on www.puppyfind.com.
When Iowa Reps. Jim Lykam, D-Davenport, and Polly Bukta, D-Clinton, visited the kennel last week, 13 puppies were listed for sale. But there was no barking when Lykam knocked on the back door of the house adjacent to the kennel.
U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection reports of the facility also make multiple references to a whelping building that at times housed as many as 81 dogs and contain accounts of puppies legs falling through wire flooring.
Lykam and Bukta made the visit to the kennel because they want the state to be able to inspect breeding facilities when complaints are filed agai nst a federally licensed facility. Now, inspections can only be done by federal officials. The USDA has five inspectors who are responsible for all of Iowa in addition to other states.
As part of Lykam and Bukta's efforts, a study committee will meet Tuesday in Des Moines to refine a bill for the full legislature's consideration next year.
A green minivan without license plates sits in the driveway of the kennel, southwest of Mount Pleasant near the Missouri border. There is an odor in the air and the property, which housed 145 dogs, according to a June inspection report, is quiet. Bukta hears movement near the first trailer behind a fence. The
legislators follow the noise to find a woman who did not give her name but said she was looking after the place while Scearcy was in Iowa City for the day.
"I can't let anybody in when she's not here," the woman said. "There's no way I can do that."
Five huskies are visible in a raised outdoor run attached to a sixth trailer that wasn't visible from the road, but the woman said there are too many breeds of dogs at the facility for her to name.
"They're going to be going to an interim study committee on licensed breeders, and we're trying to get as much knowledge as we can," Lykam said.
"You're not trying20to shut people down are you?" the woman asked.
"No, no," Lykam answered.
Before leaving, Lykam left his business card with the woman who said she would have Scearcy call him to schedule a tour.
Lykam has not heard from Scearcy.
She later declined to comment for this article and the name on her www.puppyfind.com account has been changed to Christy Parks.
41 violations in two years
But what the corn fields, trees and closed windows hide, inspection reports reveal. Since receiving her license in the fall of 2007, Scearcy has accumulated 41 violations, 12 of which are repeat offenses, of the Animal Welfare Act, a set of standards for animals bred and housed in commercial breeding facilities. The standards require USDA-licensed facilities to provide animals proper housing, sanitation, food, water and protection against extreme weather. The act is considered a minimum standard of care, and licensees are encouraged to exceed them.
According to USDA inspection reports, Scearcy's violations include:
Dogs that were so severely matted they could not see.
Failure to provide veterinary care to injured or sick dogs.
Excess accumulation of feces that at times was as thick as 1 to 2 inches.
Infestations of fleas, flies and roaches.
Jagged metal edges that could harm animals.
Excessiv e rust and chewed wood surfaces that can't be sanitized.
Housing too many animals in a crate, including puppies, so that the dogs could not turn around or lie down.
The USDA inspects licensed facilities once a year and more often if there are problems. Mystic Rock Kennels has been inspected six times since Jan. 10, 2008, when her first inspection as a licensed breeder revealed 11 violations.
Dave Sacks, spokesman for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, an agency within the USDA, said breeders with a history of non-compliance can be placed under investigation where evidence will be gathered and turned over to a USDA administrative law judge, who has the power to suspend and revoke licenses.
"We're not in the business of turning a blind eye to animal abuse, so when we see patterns like this, we're going to look at them certainly a lot differently than a breeder that has a very clean record," Sacks said. "And if we see a pattern like we see here, you may soon see some information coming out that there was an investigation launched or there is some enforcement actions coming down the pike."
Some breeders invite inspections
Seventeen miles southeast in Bonaparte , Iowa , the scene is different at Juliana's Happytails. Marty Stecker, who owns the kennel with his ex-wife, Juliana Van Winkle, gave Lykam and Bukta a tour of one of four whelping buildings.
Inside the climate-co ntrolled building there were about a dozen litters of puppies with their mothers. Each litter of small breed dogs were housed in a 3-foot cube, wire bottom crate. Some crates also have removable wooden trays so the smallest of the puppies' feet don't fall through the wires. Below each crate was a slanted board that led to a drainage trough for easy cleaning.
The facility was clean, with only two fresh stools caught in the wires of two crates. Next to each enclosure is a clipboard containing detailed records of the number of puppies in the litter, their gender and date they were born, as well as a long list of vaccinations and medications and the dates they are to be administered.
Citing concern over the noise, Stecker asked the legislators not to go into the main building that houses about 260 breeding dogs and instead look over the facility through a screen door. An odor of waste was strong. Stecker said the building had not been cleaned out yet but that it is sanitized daily. The dogs appeared to be healthy, clean and groomed, and they were housed in crates that were 2 feet by 4 feet.
"It'd be nice just to have one (per enclosure), but dogs are real social animals, and they prefer to be with another dog," said Stecker, who added that they never place more than two dogs together. "USDA has formulas for how much room you can legally have, and it's a sin. They would barely have enough room to turn around in there according to their rules. "
Stecker, who breeds the dogs once every 10 to 11 months, has been in the commercial breeding business for about 12 years. While Scearcy has accumulated 41 violations in 20 months, Juliana's Happy Tails has been cited twice in three years - peeling wire in the crates and a dog that had hair loss on its legs and nose. Van Winkle had documentation that the dog was being treated with antibiotics, but the inspector wanted the dog to see a veterinarian as well.
Lykam said the Iowa Pet Breeder's Association has invited legislators to tour Knapp Creek Acres, LLC in Amana , Iowa . The facility has had a clean record of compliance with USDA regulations.
"They say you can eat off the floor there, and that's the one they want to showcase all the time," Lykam said. "But I don't think anyone is inviting us down to Keosauqua."

Also on the Web
View the inspection reports from Mystic Rock Kennels and Juliana's Happy Tails, a fact sheet on the Animal Welfare Act and the agenda for the Care of Animals in Commercial Enterprises Study Committee at www.qctimes.com.
See video of Mystic Rock Kennels and hear Iowa Reps. Jim Lykam and Polly Bukta talk about their impressions of the commercial breeding facilities at www.qctimes.tv.
To chat with Lykam about his visit to commercial breeding facilities and about the Care of Animals in Commercial Enterprises Study Committee, go to my.quadsville.com at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Puppy mill meetings
Listening Post on the Puppy Mill Bill
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Animal Rescue League of Iowa , 5452 NE 22nd St. , Des Moines
Care of A nimals in Commercial Enterprises Study Committee
When: 9 a.m. Tuesday
Where: Room 103, Supreme Court Chamber, Iowa State Capital, East 9th and Grand, Des Moines

BE SURE TO ATTEND THIS EVENT MONDAY EVE!

WE NEED YOU!!!!
THE DOGS NEED YOU!!!

Shar pei surrendered by Iowa mill.
Crippled from being housed in small cage.


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