Closing Down A Large Puppy Mill

The barking is frantic and constant. The noise plus the smell, the chaos and the frantic desperation on every dog’s face are things I’ll never forget about Whispering Oaks Kennel.

By Kelli Ohrtman, Star Tribune Sales and Marketing

Last update: November 13, 2008 - 10:18 AM

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The dogs now live in loving homes and have grass under their feet instead of wire.

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The barking is frantic and constant. The noise plus the smell, the chaos and the frantic desperation on every dog’s face are things I’ll never forget about Whispering Oaks Kennel.

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah (www.bestfriends.org) received an inquiry about Whispering Oaks earlier this summer, one of the many we get each year about various animal issues. Whispering Oaks has been breeding dogs for longer than I’ve been alive. Over the past 46 years, it has sold thousands of puppies. When we stepped onto the property in late August, all I could think was, this life is finally over for every single one of these dogs.

Cruelty charges and environmental violations
After checking every cage, the Deputy Sheriff had told the breeder what animal cruelty charges she would face, plus let her know about some serious Environmental Protection Agency violations. A creek near the kennel tested at a total coliform bacteria level of more than 80,000 per 100 milliliters. The allowable maximum in West Virginia is 200 per 100 milliliters. Faced with these charges, the breeder surrendered all her dogs and signed an agreement that she would never operate a breeding business again.

With that, we were given the go-ahead to remove the 900-plus breeding dogs from the property. We were told we had until 6:00 pm the following day to do it. Less than 24 hours.

The buildings were scattered across the top of a steep hill, behind a privacy fence posted with several “NO TRESPASSING” signs. The sound of dogs barking came from every direction. Whenever someone bought a puppy from Whispering Oaks, this was the part they never saw because the dogs from this kennel were sold over the internet, at a pet store or through a classified ad.

The isolation building
I entered the isolation building alone — a ramshackle old shed with the word “isolation” scrawled on the front door. Inside, it was oddly silent, and even hotter than it was outside. Mouse poop covered every surface, and the sink and counter were littered with bottles, cleaners and syringes, all dirty and in disarray. In a dim back room, empty rusted wire cages were stacked four high. A caramel-colored Pekingese sat in a cage by himself. He ran back and forth, dragging his back end. He was paralyzed. I knew the Sheriff had already tagged him. He’d be one of the first ones out.

Rows of chain link kennels
Down a steep embankment were rows of chain link kennels with cement floors. Dirty cocker spaniels ran in circles and threw themselves at the fence line or hid behind their water buckets. About fifty dogs lived in a series of free standing rabbit hutch-type cages patched together with sheet metal, bits of wire, graying wood scraps and plywood made slimy with urine and feces. Tiny yorkies, dachshunds, shih tzus and poodles had most likely been living in those wire-floored, outdoor hutches for years.

There were six large, long buildings that housed about a hundred dogs each. There were always at least three dogs to a cage — sometimes as many as five. It was mind-numbing to go from one building the next. To see the sheer number of dogs living out their lives in cages. No one should be allowed to have almost a thousand dogs for breeding purposes. But there is no law in West Virginia that disallows places like Whispering Oaks.

The nursery
The “nursery” was the worst building. It was where the mother dogs were moved when they were ready to give birth and nurse their puppies until they were 6-8 weeks old. Inside, there were rows of wire boxes. Some dogs nursed day-old puppies on dirty carpet squares.

The Whispering Oaks Kennel ad, found all over the internet before it was shut down, always stated that its puppies were, “Pre-spoiled. Ready to go!” I guess people have different ideas of what “spoiled” is. To me, it’s not living the first weeks of life in a wire-floored cage in a stinky dark building.