Wisconsin Humane Society buys, closes puppy mill

[PeaceNikki]

By JACKIE LOOHAUIS-BENNETT
[e-mail]
Posted: July 18, 2008

The Wisconsin Humane Society is buying one of the largest dog breeding facilities in the nation, and plans to close the kennel and find new homes for the more than 1,100 dogs there, the society announced Friday.

The action appears to be an unprecedented step in the campaign by U.S. humane societies against puppy mills.

"We have not heard of this ever being done by a local facility," said Cory Smith, program manager of animal sheltering issues for the Humane Society of the United States. "You see these places and it's heartbreaking. So when you know that people are making a living by this, this approach seems like a logical step - to use financial means to get the animals out of there."

Puppy Haven Kennel in Markesan, about 90 miles northwest of Milwaukee, will close after selling its dog breeding business to the Wisconsin Humane Society for an undisclosed amount that Humane Society board member Tony Enea called "pennies on the dollar." In a statement, the society said the kennel's owner, Wallace Havens, was "willing to substantially discount the sale of the business because the dogs would be retired and placed in good homes."

More at link: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=774130

Yay for the WI Humane Society! :)

Quick facts about the mill:

Puppy Haven Kennel
Location: Markesan
Dogs sold annually: 3,000
Breeds: Pugs, beagles, poodles, miniature schnauzers, Shih Tzus, American Eskimos, Yorkshire terriers, "designer breeds."

[flvegan]

1. Good.

High praise for WHS doing this.

Also, high praise for Havens as he could have probably sent the animals to auction for the same price.

However, a big middle finger to that assbucket for running a mill as he has for so long. The blood of tens of thousands of shelter dogs is on your hands, you fuck.

[PeaceNikki]

6. They are a great organization.

They have a press release on their site, too.

http://www.wihumane.org/news/default.aspx#ph

[LostinVA]

2. Great news!

I hope Humane Societies can afford to start doing this more often.

When I saw the list of breeds being sold, I knew they were also breeding "designer" dogs, a trend that I find absolutely sickening. There is never a reason to spend a $1000 on a "designer" dog, when so many mutts are being killed in shelters for lack of a home.

[ColbertWatcher]

3. I think it's great, but...

...I wish the people who run these "mills" aren't able to profit at all.

Eminent domain FTW!

[LostinVA]

4. I agree

Personally, I think the dogs should have been seized by local authorities and handed over to the humane society, along with jail time for the "breeders."

But, if that's not going to happen, at least the dogs have a chance at a happy life.

[flvegan]

8. Know what's sad, the NYTimes did an article involving him

a couple years ago. Walked through the facility, everything. Never blew the whistle on him.

More sad I guess is that an article can talk openly about a puppy mill in such a huge periodical and not receive outcry. Just be accepted.

[LostinVA]

9. That's appalling

[flvegan]

10. Found the article

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/magazine/04dogs.t.html?fta=y

[CountAllVotes]

11. you'd be surprised how much of this goes on

I've been a victim of it myself (ended up with a dog that was from a place that is certainly disgusting yet still in business!).

It amazes me. They will sell these poor puppies and dogs to people and they instruct them to keep the locked up in a crate just like they do at "home". Many of these poor puppies and dogs have never felt grass beneath their feet nor experienced what real daylight is. :( It sickens me. I believe a Federal law is needed outlawing ALL puppymills and breeders that knowingly breed and sell sick animals for profit.

I wonder how these evil greedy creeps would like to live in a box with only 6 inches to move around for their entire life? I doubt they'd like it much!

May they reap the evil that they sow in the afterlife! :mad:

:kick:

[LiberalFighter]

12. There should be a law restricting the number of dogs permitted on a site for breeding purposes.

And could not breed without a license if they have more than 1 or 2 litters.

[flvegan]

13. Actually...there is.

It's worthless, because it's an APHIS rule. Any wholesale "dealer" which is all these folks are, have to have a USDA/APHIS Class license and are subject to inspections...which never happen. More of our defunct govt in action.

[CountAllVotes]

15. you had me going there flvegan!

lol ... yes you are right. Good damn luck enforcing it! Laws are meant to be broken in the minds of these low life criminals! :grr:

GREED KILLS

Shut down the puppy mills and stop the dog auctions!

:kick:

[CountAllVotes]

14. the person I dealt with had an expired kennel license

and yes, I turned this person in and nothing was done. It angers me. I'll never get over it nor forget what happened. Said person has about 50 dogs or more at present and does not care properly for any of them - just keeps them locked up in the wire cages. They never know what love or attention is from a human being. They don't know what a dog toy is.

Man is not and never will be their best friend as they are scarred for life in most cases. It is hard to undo the horrific cruelty. Like people, dogs don't forget either. :(

:kick:

[flvegan]

17. God bless the rescuers, open or otherwise.

When the law fails, someone else shouldn't.

[LiberalFighter]

18. It would appear that state humane and rescue organizations need

to lobby to require minimum requirements.

They need to be inspected on a regular basis and maintain medical records. I realize that they probably aren't required to use a vet to provide necessary vaccinations. But there should be a record of the medications that they purchase for such purchases.

[LostinVA]

16. Oh, I'm not surprised about how much this happens

And, many of these "breeders" are Amish or Mennonite, which I've had DUers flat out tell me I was lying about before.

There's nothing wrong with crate training dogs, but it's flat out cruel to keep dogs crated up all the time. I agree that an ENFORCED federal law is needed. In Germany, they are very strict about who can breed dogs, and it results in much healthier, even-tempered dogs than we have in the US.

Our dog is a rescue, from a very good breeder. He got lucky and ended up at a sheep farm after he was just dumped at a kennel in PA (with his papers and vet records), but most abandoned dogs are not so lucky.

[LiberalFighter]

19. Our rescue person has first hand experience with these Amish breeders.

When it comes to breeding the Amish lack character.

I foster many dogs and sometimes I don't even know their origin. And there are some that have strange behaviors. Such has doing their business on concrete instead of the grass. Going around in circles even when out in the yard. They get a person dizzy.

[ColbertWatcher]

21. Why wait for an imaginary afterlife? I hope they get their just desserts now. n/t

[OwnedByFerrets]

5. Fantastic news....all our pets are rescues....

all 6 ferrets and both bichons. The things that happen in some of these "mills" are almost unspeakable.

[PeaceNikki]

7. Ours, too.

We have a pit bull that we got through a rescue group, a cat we got through a private rescue and a cat we found and rescued ourselves.

They're the coolest. :)

[hanksco]

20. closed puppy mill

I had the pleasure of visiting the Puppy Haven Kennel on at
least three occasions over the past two decades. I only wish
my late wife, Sheila, and I had been able to purchase our two
black Miniature Schnauzer puppies, Heidi Doody and Rowdy Yates
from as clean a facility as Puppy Haven. They had no black
Miniature Schnauzer puppies when we were ready to give two a
home. 
At the home grown puppy mills, each where we shopped having
two or more breeding females, the doggies did not have near
the exercise area as those at Puppy Haven. Nor did they have a
vet available when needed. Nor did they have the year around
heated sleeping areas as were provided at Puppy Haven.
I was very impressed with the facilities at Puppy Haven, and
with the attention the breeding doggies received. The
facilities were very clean, and very spacious (per doggie). 
One writer mentioned the one square foot area per dog. At
Puppy Haven, it appeared to me that each team, usually 3
females and one male, had at least 96 square feet of outside
exercise area, available 24/7.
I am very proud of the Wisconsin Humane Society for purchasing
these breeding dogs. These dogs deserve a good home, and
personal attention, as do all dogs. It really irritates me
when I visit someone who has a dog in a house, and
occasionally even in an apartment, with no doggie door, and no
restricted outdoors exercise area. So many "alleged"
or "self claimed" dog lovers adopt dogs and take
them to a home where the only time the dog gets to go out and
play is when the "master" is home, and willing to
take the doggie outside. I would NEVER support anyone having a
dog in the house without having a doggie door and an outside
confined play/exercise area!
Someone also suggested that nobody should purchase a dog from
a breeder as long as there are dogs available for adoption at
a shelter. That person has obviously lead a very sheltered
life. Each time I go to a pound, I totally fall in love with
numerous dogs. But, I am also very realistic, and I fully
understand that many of my friends have allergies. They must
have a "designer dog", or they cannot have a dog.
Some of the hybrid dogs we observed at Puppy Haven were bred
specifically for people who had allergies, but wanted a
specific characteristic in a dog, and it needed to be a house
dog. 
I hope Wisconsin Humane Society will find these dogs good
homes, and will pursue locating special breeds of dogs that
meet specific needs for our citizens with special needs, as
Puppy Haven did.
Incidentally, one person mentioned doggies costing $1000.00 at
Puppy Haven. In our visits, the extreme highest priced puppy
we seen was priced at $300.00, and most were considerably
less. And, I observed one very nice puppy that was
specifically picked out to give to a lady in her 90's, at no
charge whatsoever. The owner of Puppy Haven was very
compassionate, almost to a fault I would say.

[LostinVA]

23. Whoa -- I think this is the first time I've seen the owner of a Puppy Mill post on DU

I can't believe I'm reading someone sticking up for a puppy mill on here. Either you're the owner, or you're delusional about puppy mills. Either way, you shouldn't be anywhere near a dog.

And, if you need a hypoallergenic dog, get a poodle, from a REPUTABLE BREEDER, not some puppy mill, that should have been shut down years ago and had the owner thrown in jail. There is ZERO excuse for a "designer" dog when millions of dogs die in shelters every year, because of irresponsible owners and puppy mill sickos.

[XemaSab]

22. Get a mutt

They're great dogs. :D

"Purebreds" are a scam.