Ohio Kennel Legislation (aka The Puppy Mill Bill) The kennel legislation language is written to address the large scale abuse and neglect of breeding dogs maintained in high volume breeding facilities. It will not affect hunters or reputable breeders.	Puppy Mill: A dog breeder that puts profit before the well-being of a dog. Dogs are housed in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions without adequate veterinary care, food, water and socialization.	Read Senate Bill 95 Every picture on this page is from an Ohio Kennel
Info about Ohio High Volume Kennels A comparison to Ohio Holmes Co OH 450-500 kennels, 0 inspectors Lancaster Co PA 275 kennels, 6 inspectors	2009 Video of Ohio Kennel -Graphic images of high volume kennel owner carrying/dangling dog by two front paws.  This dog died in from hereditary disease. -Interview of Junior Horton, infamous breeder kicked out of Viginia for deplorable breeding practices.  Horton now lives in Coshocton County with over 400 dogs. -1000 dogs removed from West Virginia Breeder Sharon Roberts. She agrees not to breed in W Virginia ever again.  She is now living in Washington County Ohio.  Wash Co Ohio Sheriff found over a quarter of a million dollars in cash in her home.		Pictures from Ohio High Volume Kennels
This is how these dogs live year after year.	Summary There are 161 USDA licensed breeders in Ohio.  With over 11,000 kennel registrations in Ohio, there is a great disparity in the USDA licensing and inspecting of the appropriate number of kennels.  Most high volume kennels are not under USDA enforcement because they are not selling wholesale.  Ohio is the 2nd worst state for the number of puppy mills in the country and, in the opinion of an undercover  investigator who has videoed puppy mills across the nation, Ohio is the worst in the entire country for conditions the dogs live in. Existing Ohio legislation does not provide for public accountability where deplorable conditions exist.  Ohio is quickly gaining the reputation as the puppy mill capital of the Midwest.  The high volume kennels are the major concern. Reputable breeders, veterinarians and dog enthusiasts continue to embrace the puppy mill language.  Minimum standards for dog care (such as unfrozen water bowls, daily feeding, living quarters free from a build up of urine/feces) are a few of the requirements included in the puppy mill legislation. This bill encourages responsible breeding and the raising of dogs for the pet industry. A puppy purchased from an Ohio breeder will be a badge of honor instead of a mark of shame.  Our goal is to address the situations where dogs are being warehoused in deplorable conditions.  Please read below as to how you can do your part to make sure the Puppy Mill Bill is passed. Estimates suggest OH has a 1 billion dollar breeding business. Holmes County Commissioners testified against the puppy mill bill, but did state the dog breeding in Holmes County generates $9 million a year. We believe that to be grossly underestimated.    (Holmes Co Commissioners were the only of Ohio's 88 counties to testify against the puppy mill bill) This article from the Indy Star states that 92 Indiana breeders are USDA-registered.  Lawmakers and industry experts estimate there are as many as 3,000 commercial dog breeders in the state, fueling a $1.3 billion industry.  If Indiana is estimating that 3000 kennels generate 1 billion....then Ohio could be as high as 3 billion in untaxed revenue. OH has over 11,000 kennels, 161 USDA licensed.  When we looked at these numbers....we reduced the kennel numbers to 9,000. (given that 2000 could be hunters or low volume breeders or people who have a license that should not)

Rocky was rescued January 2007 from a puppymill. He came with sores and scabs all over his body. Much of his hair was gone. He had demodectic mange and was flea infested. He was terribly afraid of everyone and would bite when anyone tried to touch him.

                                         
                                     All dogs pictured above came from very high volume kennels in the northeast area of Ohio.
       Hope a pug with patelling Elbows.  Neco, the chi came with no jaw and clearly his nose had been broke at sometime in his life.
 3rd pic is Tess a 10 year old yorkie girl with no jaw.  Elvis, a 7month old Italian greyhound, his leg was broke and healed over when we got him.


 

Questions about the Puppy Mill Bill
Updated:  March 17, 2009

The Puppy Mill Bill, Joint sponsorship by State Representative's Robert Hagan
Carlton Weddington and Joint Sponsorship by Senator's Hughes and Cates will
address the high volume kennels that Ohio is now infamous for. 

The language has been fine tuned from the last general assembly and
interested parties have given advice based on their specialty in the dog
arena, (dog breeders, humane advocates, dog wardens, humane
societies, pet stores)
                                                            

Thank you to everyone who has been carefully looking at the wording of

the bill and sharing your stories.  This is a joint effort of hundreds of people

who care about dogs, dog breeding and saving dogs from deplorable conditions.

When reading the bill, please note:
-new legislation must recite an entire statute including existing legislation
-underlined text is new language.  Individuals who complain about material that is

not underlined/strikethrough, are concerned about existing law, not something in

this proposal.

Question:  Will the proposal make hobby breeding illegal in Ohio?
Answer:  No

Question:  Who does the proposal regulate?
Answer:  Individuals and businesses who sell 9 or more litters or 40 dogs a year.  The legislation creates civil regulation, not a ban, of high volume facilities where tens or even hundreds of adult dogs are housed to make a profit.

Question:  What kind of standards will regulated kennels have to meet?
Answer:  A kennel will have to be a clean and safe place for dogs.  Clean water and wholesome food will need to be provided daily.  Cages will need to have adequate space for dogs who live in them 365 days a year.  They will have resting boards to give them relief from standing on wire flooring.  Dogs kept out of doors will need to be provided with shade in summer and insulation to keep warm in winter.  Necessary veterinary care will need to be provided.  These common sense standards are designed to be reasonable so that even the responsible larger scale kennel owner will easily surpass them.

Question: Does Ohio have a puppy mill problem?

Answer:  Yes.   Ohio has over  11,000 kennels.  The dog breeding business is not regulated in Ohio.  The USDA only regulates wholesale breeders.  The USDA has 161 licensed breeders in Ohio (many of which are breeders of animals other than dogs). Ohio is second only to Missouri in number of puppy mills.  National undercover investigators have called Ohio the worst state for the sanitary conditions that dogs live in.

High volume, irresponsible breeders locate in Ohio because there is no regulation that addresses substandard conditions, and the few laws that do exist must be enforced by a county dog warden who lacks the facilities and funds needed to enforce the existing animal cruelty law.  This bill will bring change by providing an enforcement entity to address and shut down abusive puppy mill operations in Ohio, so that responsible breeders can flourish, and consumers can be protected.

Question:  Will County Dog Warden’s loose the money they would have collected from kennel fees?
Answer:  No.  All counties will still receive the same amount of kennel fees without the task of paper work and complaints against problem kennels.

Question:  Are large scale facilities regulated by the American Kennel Club or United Kennel Club?

Answer:  No.  The AKC and UKC (and all registries) are voluntary clubs that only have the power to suspend their non-compliant members.   The purpose of the AKC and UKC are to improve breeds and bloodlines, and encourage responsible standards in breeding.  The AKC and UKC are not regulatory agencies.  They have no power to remove dogs in danger.  Many puppy mills in Ohio do not belong to either the AKC or UKC and therefore are not being monitored in any form. 

   We could post hundreds of pictures of dogs from Ohio Puppy mills. These are just a few of the abuses/neglectful situations that are taking place in Ohio.
Notice the nails curled under and into the pads in the last picture.

Question: 
How much will it cost for a breeding kennel license?
Answer: 
$150 for 9-15 litters a year
$250 for 16-25 litters a year
$350 for 26-35 litters a year
$500 for 36-45
$750 for more than 46 litters a year

$500 for intermediaries (pet stores, brokers, dealers)

Question: Why wouldn't the local humane agents be the ones to inspect local people if there is a complaint?
Answer:  Right now, absent a criminal complaint, there is no recourse if a humane agent is turned away to inspect and rescue dogs in imminent danger.

Question: Why are the dog wardens left out if this?
Answer: They are not.  Dog wardens are an important part of dog law enforcement.   Under the proposal, dog wardens will report sub-standard conditions to the kennel authority. Dog wardens have two primary responsibilities: they enforce animal cruelty laws, and they operate county dog shelters for stray animals.  

Question: Why does the bill read the way it does?
Answer: There are places in Ohio where dogs are kept in cages where they cannot turn around, feces/urine drop on them from above, and accumulate, where dogs have never seen a veterinarian in their lives, and they cannot walk in a normal fashion because their nails have never been trimmed, and where their hair is matted by feces. That is reality at some kennels in Ohio.  And absence a complaint for animal cruelty, there is no inspection whatsoever. Presently there is no way to get the dogs out of that situation.  Most people don’t have any idea about these horrendous conditions, or that Ohio is at the top of the list as far as such horrendous conditions.

Question:  What if a breeder chooses not to get a license?
Answer:    The breeder is still subject to inspection, and the consequent penalties for violation.  In addition, the breeder would be subject to a financial penalty equal to two times the amount of the license fee that should have been paid.   A complaint can also be filed against the person to obtain a court order to cease operation.

 Champaign County Puppy Mill (Feb 2008)

            
Question:  Does the bill set a price for what a rescue can charge for an adoption fee?
Answer:  No.  Dogs that have been relinquished  to the Kennel Control Authority may go to a rescue or shelter and can be adopted from the rescue or shelter for an adoption fee that the rescue/shelter sets.

Question: Does this bill have anything to do with dog auctions in Ohio?
Answer:    The bill will place a ban on dog auctions in Ohio 9 months after the bill is passed.  The time delay will give breeders who have traditionally
used the auction the opportunity to sell or re-home the dogs in a familiar and comfortable setting.

Question:   Do vaccinations have to be given to my dog every year?
Answer:   The owner, together with the dog’s veterinarian, determines the vaccinations to be given to the dog.   


Question:   Why does the puppy mill bill micromanage the euthanasia of dogs? 
Answer:  It doesn’t. It says only that dogs must be euthanized by the dog’s veterinarian, and not be left unattended between the commencement of the process and death.  Imperfect puppies in puppy mills are drowned in a bucket of water if the cost is too high to treat health issues, hammers are used to euthanize the older dogs. High volume breeders are profit-driven and will not pay the price for humane euthanasia.

      
Removed from Ohio Puppy Mill.  Rosie is an 8 year old Shih Tzu.   The mat around her leg was like a tourniquet.  She had pyometra and was extremely sick.  She had to be shaved down which resulted in a body that was skin and bones.  She weighed in at 14 lbs. and when the mats were shaved, she weighed 11 lbs.!  The last  picture is after weeks of rehabilitation.  She has been adopted and is living with another dog.

Question:  Does Ohio have that many breeders with hundreds of dogs?
Answer:  Yes.  There are over 11,000 kennel registrations in Ohio.  There are hundreds of kennels that have hundreds of dogs being confined in conditions shown on this website.  Ohio is 2nd only to Missouri in number of kennels in the state. 

Question:  Who must apply for a kennel license?
Answer:  A person who has nine or more litters, or sells 40 or more dogs in a given year.

                                                                                                            
Japanese Chin with deformed legs purchased from an Ohio Puppy Mill                                              Paralyzed Papillion removed from an Ohio Mill, April 2008

Question:  Do you expect us to license every dog?
Answer:  All dogs are required to have a license tag under current Ohio Revised Code.  Kennel licenses vary depending on what Ohio County is administering the license. This proposal does not change the current law.   The only change from existing law on this point is that a dog housed in a regulated breeding kennel does not need to be wearing the tag.  This is a safety provision. 


Question:  What is a surety bond?  Who pays for it?  How much does it cost?  How is the cost determined?  How do you get one?
Answer:  Breeders who are regulated must provide insurance or, in lieu of that, a surety bond which is subject to redemption if they lose their license to operate. (For Breeders: If you have insurance on your business now, then you would simply pay for a rider to cover the license revocation issue.  The surety bond would need to be provided only if there was no insurance that covered the issue.  The cost is estimated at $150-300, should this type of bond coverage be needed).

Question:   "Euthanasia".  The way this reads is that if my old dog dies in the middle of the night, I can be in some sort of trouble.
Answer:   No, not unless you killed your dog.
 
 

         
Pictures taken at an Ohio puppy mill.  This puppy miller was allowed to have 25 dogs back in his custody to continue his business.  Look at the boxes (or "kennels" as the millers call them) that these dogs live in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, until they are no longer producing puppies.  They are then either sold at auction or killed.

Question:    What are conditions like in so called puppy mills?
Answer:  Large numbers of breeding dogs kept in cramped cages that are not regularly cleaned.  Breeding dogs receive little to no medical treatment, and are not properly socialized either with other dogs or with humans.  Such breeders engage in large scale breeding of many different breeds of dogs. 
These dogs are then sold to consumers without documentation of the dog’s origin or state of health. Puppy mills negatively affect responsible breeders who care for the health, social and behavioral aspects of the dogs and puppies they breed and sell.
Puppy mill produced puppies are often sick and born with genetic defects and sold to unsuspecting consumers under the guise of being “registered” and/or “purebred”.  Consumers don’t know they are buying a dog born and bred in horrendous conditions.
When the breeding dogs have become so ill or bred so much that their uterus collapses, they have been known to be disposed of by drowning, bludgeoning, shooting, surrendered to tax supported dog shelters, or sold at auction.




                                                                                        More Ohio Puppy Mills

I spoke directly with the Ohio Amish puppy miller who was auctioning her off at a farm auction.  She had spent her entire 7 years in a wire bottomed cage hanging off the side of a building.  When I sat her on the ground, that was the first time in her entire life she had been on grass. 
 

       

                   
-White Shepherd   Open sores found on this dogon the day of a raid German
-Picture 2, dog surrendered by auctioneers at dog auction in Holmes County, front part of lip ripped off, never repaired
-Black dog, picture 3, Scabs and missing hair from this dog removed from an Ohio Puppy Mill.  Dogs live like this for months and years.

Conditions at puppy mills are:  filthy, urine/feces soaked kennels.  This puppy mill, in operation in Morrow County Ohio for 25 years, actually had mice and rats running among the dogs while rescuers where removing dogs.


May 2007     A rescue picked up an 11 yr old AKC Sheltie from a high volume breeder. 
He had 6 Shelties to get rid of and the 11 year old had just "weaned her last litter".  She was free.  The miller said that we could have her or he'd just turn her loose.  He lives right on a busy state road.  He said "they don't last long, I've gotten rid of a lot of them that way." 

We had her 3 weeks and she died of cancer.  At least she died clean, not matted, out of a cage and knowing that she was loved.  She was an affectionate sweet dog.  She had been born into his puppy mill and lived her entire life in a small wire cage.  At 11 she was done and she was worthless to him.  When he took her out of the cage he grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and let her dangle like a piece of meat.

Sadly he still has three of her pups - now breeding females.  He wants $600 for them because they are pure bred.  He won't deal with us because he
knows we're a rescue and I'm sure he's sorry that he said all he had to say.