Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Puppy mill - over 100 dogs

Puppy mill - over 100 dogs
Obion, TN (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, Jul 15, 2007
County: Obion
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 2 files available

Alleged:
» James William Fair
» Mary Joe Fair

Case Updates: 7 update(s) available

Case ID: 11772

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

View more cases in TN (US)

More than 75 dogs were removed from a Northwest Tennessee home Sunday because of allegations of neglect. The Obion County Sheriff's Department and The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals took the dogs away after several complaints of animal neglect. It's up to a veterinarian to decide what happens next.

The home owners told the sheriff's department they have a vet that comes to check on the dogs and that there is no problem, but the SPCA says that's not the case. Seventy five to one hundred puppies and dogs, all small breeds were living outside in covered kennels behind the Obion County home. The animals were taken away after calls to authorities said living conditions were terrible. Obion County Sheriff Jerry Vastbinder says the dogs' owners maintain they have done nothing wrong. "I spoke with their vet who says he's been treating animals out here and he doesn't think there are any problems here," says Vastbinder. But Deborah Lorence with the Gibson-Obion County SPCA says she saw clear signs of animal neglect-dirty dogs, puppies missing hair and living in urine. "We found diarrhea, massive diarrhea, dogs with eye infections or what appeared to be eye infections and infestation of fleas and ticks," says Lorence.

SPCA took the dogs to be checked out by a veterinarian. Now its up to the independent veterinarian's diagnosis to decide if animal cruelty charges are necessary. The SPCA says the dogs owners are not licensed or registered dog breeders, but that's not required under Tennessee State Law. State law also does not regulate the number of dogs a person can have. Because the dogs' owners have not been charged, names have not been released so it's unclear if the dogs owners have ever had prior run-ins with the law or if they have ever faced charges for animal cruelty.

It will be up to a judge to decide whether the dogs will go home or be put up for adoption. In the meantime, the dogs need foster homes. If you'd like to help, call the SPCA at (731) 749-5010.

Case Updates

The owners of puppies confiscated from an alleged puppy mill failed to show in court. According to the Obion County Sheriff's Office, Bud and Mary Fair, the owners of the dogs, now officially face charges.

The Fairs were supposed to be arraigned today, their attorney, however, claims they waived that right.

On July 15, nearly 140 dogs were confiscated from the Fairs alleged puppy mill.

Bud and Mary Fair now face ten counts of animal cruelty each.

John Polis of Best Friends, an animal society from Utah that has joined forces with the Gibson-Obion County humane society, said that animal cruelty is a serious offense.

"Animal cruelty is against the law," said Polis. "You can paint whatever picture you want but if the animal is treated cruelly, then the perpetrator needs to be dealt with."

Bud Fair was charged in 2004 after a raid at his house under similar circumstances. The case was ultimately dismissed, but the court ordered Fair not own the animals for a year.

Polis hopes that something can be worked out quickly, for the sake of the dogs.

"Right now, the puppy mill's vetarinarian continues to be the veterinarian for the animals," said Polis, "and we hope a decision is made that allows a neutral party to get in there."

Both sides are expected to be in court Friday for a hearing deciding who gets temporary custody of the dogs.

Source: News Channel 5 - July 26, 2007
Update posted on Jul 27, 2007 - 5:35AM

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An Obion County couple is scheduled to be arraigned at 1 p.m. July 26 in Obion County General Sessions Court.

James "Bud" and Mary Jo Fair are each charged with 10 counts of animal cruelty in connection with their treatment of 10 out of more than 100 dogs seized from their property.

According to several affidavits of complaint filed by the sheriff against the Fairs, three Yorkshire terriers, two of which were pregnant, and a Shih Tzu and her six puppies were examined by Dr. Jon Martin, a veterinarian at Animal Care Hospital in Dyersburg.

The affidavits said that in Martin's opinion, the dogs were malnourished, neglected and in need of medical treatment.

Obion County Sheriff Jerry Vastbinder and the Gibson-Obion County Humane Society seized the dogs from the Fairs' property, at 7311 Minnick-Elbridge Road, on July 15 after receiving complaints that the animals were being mistreated.

The humane society housed the dogs at the Dyer County Fairgrounds last week, but the dogs were delivered to Dresden veterinarian Dr. Bob Page on Friday under court order.
A judge granted Mary Fair a temporary restraining order against the Humane Society.

The restraining order is scheduled to remain in effect until 12:45 p.m. Aug. 2.

A hearing on the request for a temporary injunction by the Humane Society is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday.

Source: Jackson Sun - July 26, 2007
Update posted on Jul 27, 2007 - 5:34AM

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Bad teeth, insect infestations and cuts on the paws of puppies and dogs. These were a few of the signs of animal cruelty that convinced Obion County Sheriff Jerry Vastbinder to file charges against the dogs' owners, James "Bud" and Mary Jo Fair, according to records from the Obion County General Sessions Court clerk's office.

The Fairs are each charged with 10 counts of animal cruelty in connection with their treatment of 10 out of more than 100 dogs seized from their property. They are scheduled to be arraigned at 1 p.m. Thursday in Obion County General Sessions Court.

According to several affidavits of complaint filed by the sheriff against the Fairs, three Yorkshire terriers, two of which were pregnant, and a Shih Tzu and her six puppies were examined by Dr. Jon Martin, a veterinarian at Animal Care Hospital in Dyersburg.

The affidavits said that in Martin's opinion, the dogs were malnourished, neglected and in need of medical treatment.

The following are what Martin's examinations on the Yorkies showed, according to the affidavits:

* A 6.4-pound pregnant female Yorkie was found to be flea and tick infested. She also was in a condition called urine scalded, in which the dog sustained burns on her belly and feet from lying in her own urine. The dog had bad teeth and pododermatitis, a skin disease that causes redness or swelling in the foot pads, the affidavits said.

* A Yorkie male, 6.2 pounds and 2 to 3 years old, had mites in his eyes and pododermatitis. The dog also had very bad tartar on his teeth and all his canines were growing abnormally.

* A third Yorkie was a 5-pound pregnant female with matted eyes, mites in both ears and very bad teeth. She also had pododermatitis, along with scalding to the pads of her feet.

Martin's examinations of a Shih Tzu and her puppies showed that the dogs suffered from a variety of ailments, including pododermatitis, bad teeth and hook worms.

Obion County Sheriff's Department Capt. Kent Treece said Monday that Vastbinder and officials from the Obion and Weakley County District Attorney's Office determined there was sufficient evidence to press charges after reviewing veterinarian examinations for the 10 dogs.

Vastbinder and the Humane Society seized the dogs from the Fairs' property, at 7311 Minnick-Elbridge Road, on July 15 after receiving complaints that the animals were being mistreated.

The Gibson-Obion County Humane Society housed the dogs at the Dyer County Fairgrounds last week, but the dogs were delivered to Dresden veterinarian Dr. Bob Page on Friday under court order.

A judge granted Mary Fair a temporary restraining order against the Humane Society. The restraining order is scheduled to remain in effect until 12:45 p.m. Aug. 2.

A hearing on the request for a temporary injunction by the Humane Society is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday. Wes Shumate, a Dyersburg attorney, said Tuesday that he will file a response today to a lawsuit that Mary Fair filed against the society on Friday.

This is not the first time the Fairs have been taken to court concerning their dogs, according to court documents.

The Fairs were living in Dyersburg when they were charged with cruelty to animals in March 2004. In that case, humane society officials seized 44 out of 107 dogs found at the couple's residence. The couple received judicial diversion and those charges were dismissed, according to court records.

An affidavit of complaint in that case, dated March 27, 2004, described the dogs as living in "nasty, excrement-filled pens with food and water that was extremely filthy and the dogs were unable to eat or drink."

Source: Jackson Sun - July 25, 2007
Update posted on Jul 27, 2007 - 5:31AM

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A woman who is accused of running an unlicensed puppy mill is fighting to get back more than 130 dogs that were seized by the humane society.

An Obion County circuit court judge granted owner Mary Fair a temporary restraining order Wednesday against the Gibson-Obion Humane Society to prevent the organization from giving the dogs away and spaying or neutering them.

The dogs include Boston terriers, French bulldogs, King Charles spaniels, poodles and other popular breeds.

They were seized Sunday by the humane society and taken to the Dyer County Fairgrounds in Dyersburg.

Nancy Green, assistant director for the humane society, has said investigators believe the dogs were being bred for sale without a license.

Fair's attorney says the dogs may have had fleas or ear mites, but they were not malnourished or mistreated.

Source: WMC-TV- July 20, 2007
Update posted on Jul 22, 2007 - 4:27PM

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A key provision for the pre-trial diversion granted to the former Newbern couple charged with animal cruelty in 2004 was apparently violated when 137 dogs were seized on Sunday from their Obion County home.

James William "Bud" Fair and his wife, Mary Joe Fair, were each charged with cruelty to animals on March 27, 2004. They entered a plea agreement to have an 11-month, 29-day unsupervised probation period. The Fairs were placed in pre-trial diversion that ended in July 2005, when the charges were dismissed.

Among the nine rules in the agreement, the Fairs were to forfeit all of the dogs except for "an apricot colored poodle, a French bull dog, and two Boston terriers," and they had to be spayed or neutered.

Source: Star-Gazette - July 22, 2007
Update posted on Jul 22, 2007 - 6:17AM

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Volunteers are needed and foster homes are being sought for nearly 140 puppies and dogs taken Sunday from what animal cruelty investigators suspect was a puppy mill in Obion County.

The pure-blooded dogs were taken from a residence on Minnick-Elbridge Road in Obion and are being cared for and housed at the Dyer County Fairgrounds in Dyersburg, according to Nancy Green, assistant director for the Gibson/Obion County Humane Society.

The society is a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Green said that most of the 134 dogs are adult breeder dogs. They include Boston terriers, French bulldogs, King Charles spaniels, cocker spaniels, Yorkies, poodles, mixed poodles, Pekingese, Pomeranians, Dachshunds and terriers.

Because they are pure-blooded, dogs of these types are sold for hundreds and sometimes, thousands of dollars.

Green said that an anonymous tip led investigators to the discovery of the dogs.

"Hopefully, we can get puppy mills like this outlawed," Green said Tuesday. "I totally disagree with mass breeding dogs for profit."

Charges had not been filed against the dogs' owners Tuesday and the owners' names have not been released.

Green said that the owners were not licensed or registered dog breeders and had no business license.

Donna Caliendo, assistant director of operations for the Humane Society, said there was a wooded area behind the residence on Minnick-Elbridge Road.

About 30 feet into the wooded area was a cleared area where the dogs were kept in stacked cages.

The cages, under portable carports, had no compartments to catch dog waste.

"It was pretty nasty," Caliendo said Tuesday afternoon. "I have asthma and I got to the first set of cages and couldn't breathe."

The dogs are being examined by Dr. Jon Martin, a veterinarian at Animal Care Hospital in Dyersburg.

Martin said that as of Tuesday morning, between 15 to 20 of the dogs, mothers and puppies, had been examined and were going to be okay.

Martin said it will take a week or longer to thoroughly examine each dog. He said that from what he has seen, there are signs "that support that they have been mistreated."

Those signs include burns on the stomachs of a litter of puppies, infections, cuts on the pads of the dogs' feet, cases of diarrhea and some dogs being thin.

Martin said that these signs are treatable and with good foster homes, the dogs will be okay.

"The two things these guys need are a lot of attention and a lot of love," Martin said. "We're going to take care of these guys. These guys didn't choose their lot in life. It makes you feel sorry for them. Hopefully we can get all these guys into good foster homes."

Martin said that once the examinations of all the dogs are completed, he will turn his findings over to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The last time Martin saw a case like this was about three or four years ago, he said.

"Cases are usually with animal hoarders, not puppy mills," Martin said.

Caliendo said that a case like this needs to serve as a reminder that, "We need to watch out for our animals.''

Caliendo said that people interested in fostering a dog should come to the fairgrounds, with identification, and be prepared to fill out a questionnaire and other paperwork.

"We want people who love the animals and will care for them," Caliendo said.

Caliendo said that anyone who fosters the dogs will get the first chance to adopt them if they are released from the owners by the court.

Source: Jackson Sun - July 18, 2007
Update posted on Jul 18, 2007 - 9:01AM

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More than a hundred animals made their way to a Mid-South shelter Monday after authorities busted a puppy mill over the weekend.

Animal cruelty investigators say the puppies came from a puppy mill that bred some very expensive dogs.

They say the owners put ads in newspapers that could have been answered by anyone in any Shelby County neighborhood.

Almost 140 puppies and adult dogs sit in enclosures at the Dyersburg Fairgrounds.

All of the puppies were confiscated in nearby Obion County at what cruelty investigators are calling a puppy mill.

An investigation was started after the Gibson County Humane Society got anonymous complaints.

"About the care of the dogs and the puppies. Basically what it all boils down to the housing and condition of them physically," said Lowrance Gibson with the Obion County Humane Society.

Most of the puppies have some of the classic signs of abuse. One even had scald marks from sitting in urine for hours at a time.

Some of the dogs sell for thousands of dollars; french bulldogs, King Charles Spaniels, poodles, and cocker spaniels.

"The dogs basically show they've been in a wire pen environment. They have cuts on their feet, and signs of unsocialization," said Dr. Jon Martin.

Investigators said the dogs were so used to lying and standing in wire cages they got scared when a soft pad was put down for them.

This isn't the first time the people who own the dogs have faced charges.

"Took them to court and unfortunately we got pretrial diversion so it was just a misdemeanor," added Carol Feather with Dyersburg Humane Soceity.

Investigators are hoping tougher animal cruelty laws in Tennessee will make the criminal case they are building lead to a felony conviction this time.

The couple who own the dogs had not yet been charged.

The Gibson Obion County Humane Society needs money and cages for the medium sized dogs. They also need foster homes.

If you would like to foster a dog you can go to the Fairgrounds in Dyersburg on Wednesday beginning at noon and apply. They will ask you for references.

Source: WMC-TV - July 16, 2007
Update posted on Jul 17, 2007 - 12:05AM

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Puppy mill - over 100 dogsObion, TN (US)

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Puppy mill - over 100 dogs
Obion, TN (US)