Skepticism greets Little Falls dog breeder's retirement

A Little Falls, Minn., dog breeder, whose kennel application spawned a lawsuit and protests over his plan to debark some dogs, says he's closing the operation he opened in 2007. But Humane Society officials and neighbors are skeptical. Animal-welfare activists are concerned.

Gary McDuffee is registered to sell 135 dogs today at an auction in Missouri and plans to sell more dogs at auctions in December and February. An Internet posting by the Southwest Auction Service states: "Gary McDuffee is going out of business."

Wade Hanson, the Humane Society agent who oversees central and northern Minnesota, said he questions whether McDuffee is retiring because of the money he recently invested in one of Minnesota's largest kennel operations. Hanson speculated McDuffee might be using the auction to rid himself of older dogs. Thirty-six of the dogs listed for auction are at least 4 years old, but 52 are puppies. Most are small, designer breeds.

McDuffee, 56, a retired special education teacher, declined this week to be interviewed by the Star Tribune. But Caryl Freeman, a Seneca, Mo., breeder who served as his contact person for the auction, said she is "assuming he is retiring." The auction website posting says simply: "Gary has been in business for many years, but he feels it is time to sellout."

Nancy Minion -- an activist from Woodbury who has lobbied for legislation that would license, inspect and regulate commercial dog and cat breeders in Minnesota -- said animal rescue teams, some from Minnesota, hope to be at today's auction to buy as many of McDuffee's dogs as possible. "We don't want them going from one puppy mill to another," she said. "We've already failed these dogs once."

Barking into the night

Morrison County Administrator Deb Gruber says little has been heard from McDuffee since the county board approved his application in February 2007 to operate Waggin Tail Kennels in Belle Prairie Township. But neighbors Sara Dickmann and Roger Nelson, who went to court in an attempt to keep him from opening the kennel, say they are haunted by what they hear: the sounds of dogs barking well after midnight and the roar of vans hauling them away.

"This week, there were the usual vans that drive away with crates full of dogs every Wednesday morning, usually between midnight and 2," Dickmann said. "But he also had vans or trucks at his place in the middle of the night on Monday."

Three years ago, an uproar followed McDuffee's application to open a kennel that would house 600 adult dogs. In addition to the lawsuit and complaints over his plan to surgically debark some dogs (a plan he subsequently dropped), there was an online petition that drew 20,000 signatures.

McDuffee's neighbors failed to prevent the kennel from opening, losing their lawsuit and an appeal. But the spotlight illuminated legal issues surrounding puppy mills, said their Minneapolis attorney, Marshall Tanick. Neighboring Sherburne County has since placed a moratorium on puppy mills.

"The breeding industry is very vague because the laws are vague," said Keith Streff, the Humane Society agent from Golden Valley who monitors southern Minnesota. "It's like prostitution -- void of ethics. And if you're smart enough, you can bend the law."

Demand for designer dogs

Neighbor Roger Nelson said that beyond the "no trespassing" sign on McDuffee's property, two new buildings to house dogs were recently erected. McDuffee also installed a new septic system, Nelson said.

By the time McDuffee's Little Falls kennel opened, dog breeding had become a multi-million-dollar industry, fueled by growing public demand for designer pets. The industry has not been immune to today's struggling economy, though it's a tough market to gauge.

"People can't afford to buy pets they can't take care of," said Carol Krout, an animal rescue volunteer from Fort Dodge, Iowa. She said the impact has been greater on smaller breeders, not larger ones that advertise online, as McDuffee does.

In Columbus, Ohio -- where two Minnesota breeders have registered to sell dogs later this month -- prices at an Oct. 31 dog-breeders auction were dramatically lower than prices at previous auctions, said Mary O'Connor-Shaver, head of the Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions.

"We've been getting a lot of dogs from Minnesota at our auctions, many of them supposedly going out of business," said O'Connor-Shaver. "But they quickly change their minds."

In St. Cloud, Vicki Davis, executive director of the Tri-County Humane Society, reports dog adoptions in 2009 are up 8.1 percent, but puppy adoptions are down 7.6 percent.

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419