Nearly 50 yellow Labradors are now being cared for at a Golden Valley shelter after authorities seized them from a western Wisconsin breeding facility.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Office said it arrested the owner of the Elmwood unlicensed breeding facility for mistreatment of animals after finding 35 dogs and 13 puppies in filthy travel crates and without access to food or water.
The 68-year-old Wisconsin man who owns the rural farm where the facility is located remains in custody on charges of having an improper animal shelter and not providing proper food to confined animals. A call to the facility Saturday went unanswered. Its website says it has been breeding puppies since 1955 and produces roughly eight litters a year.
Authorities were tipped off to the animals' situation by a concerned resident. Numerous dead animals were also on the property, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which assisted with seizing the Labs and said it considered the facility to be a puppy mill.
The dogs and puppies are now receiving medical care at the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley.
KELLY SMITH
