Puppy mill - 20 dogs seized
Columbia, MO (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Dec 18, 2008
County: Callaway
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Darion Dewayne Juneil
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Twenty dogs are being cared for at the Central Missouri Humane Society in Columbia after shelter employees assisted in a rescue from a Callaway County facility where the animals were kept outdoors in small pens exposed to the wind and rain.
Heather Duren Stubbs, shelter relations coordinator, said she had been tipped off about the questionable facility near Millersburg months ago. She couldn't be sure whether the owners were still breeding or selling the dogs by the time the Missouri Department of Agriculture and Callaway County Sheriff's Department stepped in yesterday.
"Breeders don't understand that people who buy dogs pay attention," she said. "They are not so blinded by their new puppy that they don't pay attention to conditions. … I know I slept a lot easier knowing those dogs were at the shelter instead of in the freezing cold rain," one just hours from "giving birth last night," she said.
Matt Rold, an investigator for the Missouri Department of Agriculture, said the department had known about the facility since September, when 40 dogs were located at the property.
"They were given a chance to get out of the business," Rold said of the owner, identified by agriculture department veterinarian Jerry Eber as Darion Juneil. "They had 10 dogs by the end of September, but then we got another complaint."
Not only did the owner violate the state's licensing requirements, Rold said, he also has been charged with neglect. Callaway County deputies served papers yesterday, and the disposition hearing will be held Jan. 2 to decide ownership of the dogs.
"That hearing has nothing to do with guilt or innocence, just whether warrant was carried out correctly and to decide who has ownership of the animals," Rold said. "There is a chance they could get them back. We've got due process, but we will advocate that ownership be transferred to the Central Missouri Humane Society."
Rold said the dogs had been kept in unsanitary conditions, had no bedding and no room to move out of their own excrement.
Duren Stubbs said the dogs were in too-small pens and some did not have food nearby. There were multiple breeds at the site and a male and female of the same breed in many of the cages, she said. Several females were pregnant.
The animals are being checked out by a veterinarian today, but Duren Stubbs said some of the dogs did not look well.
"At first glance, a couple of the dogs had hair loss, and the dogs with longer-type hair were horribly matted," she said. "One cocker spaniel had hair matted over its eyes. Our first goal is to get them warm, dry and fed. Today they are all huddled in their little blankies, and it made all the work running through the muck worth it."
Case UpdatesThe Central Missouri Humane Society has been granted custody of 20 dogs formerly owned by Darion Dewayne Juniel, a Fulton man awaiting trial for animal abuse charges in Boone County Associate Circuit Court.
The Missouri Department of Agriculture, the Callaway County Sheriff's Department and the Humane Society undertook a joint operation on Dec. 19 to remove the dogs from Juniel. The dogs were living in substandard conditions. Some were kept outside and exposed to the winter weather.
The Humane Society was granted custody of the dogs Sunday, and starting tomorrow at noon, the dogs will be available for adoption at 616 Big Bear Blvd. Breeds include papillions, cocker spaniels, labradors, German shepherds, schnauzers, a poodle and a basset hound.
Humane Society Executive Director Patty Forister said it was unfortunate that the dogs had to be held at the shelter while the case worked through the court system, but the dogs, now back up to acceptable weights, are ready to be adopted.
According to a January 8, 2007 article in the Columbia Daily Tribune, Juniel has a previous arrest in January 2007 for first-degree trespassing, resisting arrest, possession of controlled substance, driving while intoxicated, unlawful use of weapon, $10,500 bond. | Source: Columbia Tribune - Jan 21, 2009
Update posted on Jan 21, 2009 - 10:51PM |
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