Puppy mill - 64 dogs surrendered
Pardeeville, WI (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Mar 11, 2008
County: Marquette
Disposition: Not Charged
Person of Interest: Cary Riehle
If Janine Rubeck could just get the beagles out of the laundry room at the Green Lake Area Animal Shelter she'd feel as though things were under control.
It might take a while.
The shelter, which normally handles up to 46 dogs in separate cages, played host to nearly 80 Wednesday. The laundry room served the overflow.
Rubeck, the shelter manager, a shelter staff member and a board member rescued 64 dogs from a Marquette County kennel near Pardeeville Tuesday after the owner, Cary Riehle, relinquished the dogs rather than maintain the kennel to county standards.
A complaint led the health department to the Riehle kennel. Inspectors discovered dogs with inadequate shelter, frozen water dishes and some with coats so matted they struggled to walk and eat, shelter staff said.
The Oshkosh Area Humane Society has taken 10 of the dogs to help ease the strain.
Some of the dogs' coats were so badly matted they were unable to open their mouths completely.
"I'm talking dreadlocks - it's really sad," said Joni Geiger, director of the Oshkosh shelter.
Riehle, the owner of the dogs, gave then up voluntarily after being told by Marquette County that her kennel license would not be renewed. She was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
"They had a license but had not maintained the kennel so we were not going to give them a new license in April," said Serena Ziegler, environmental health specialist and public health inspector for the Marquette Health Department.
The dogs appeared to be adequately nourished, Ziegler said.
Riehle had been told by the health inspector a year ago to reduce her dog population by half and refrain from breeding them. Apparently she did not take the advice because inspectors found a similar number of dogs. At least four appeared to be pregnant, Rubeck said.
Shelter staff in both Green Lake and Oshkosh groomed dogs Wednesday, preparing them for visits to the vet for vaccinations, spaying and neutering and dental care. Some will be available for adoption in a week.
Among the dogs rescued were 38 beagles, three mixed breeds and 23 designer breeds including golden doodles, Pomeranian poodles, bichon frises, spaniels and yorkie poos.
They range in age from puppies to elderly dogs.
Meanwhile, the laundry room at the Green Lake shelter is still serving as a doggy dormitory. "We'll all be deaf by the end of the day," Rubeck said. References |
