Puppy Mill - 31 dogs
Poley Mountain, NB (CA)Incident Date: Wednesday, Nov 5, 2003
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available
Alleged: Trena Fanjoy
A Sussex mobile home was home to 22 dogs and nine puppies - with three more litters expected any day. Authorities claim that one corner of the cluttered kitchen was filled with two tiers of homemade cages - more were located at the far end of the trailer in a bedroom. Many of the wooden and wire mesh cages had feces visible. A strong smell of urine permeated the cluttered home.
With items piled high along the exterior walls of the trailer, the living space for the 31 animals and two human occupants was reduced to a narrow corridor down the middle.
On Wednesday morning, inspectors with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals executed a warrant for the suspected puppy mill on Urney Road and removed all 31 dogs and puppies and a caged budgie bird.
SPCA inspector Rick Kelly said the investigation began after a tip was called into Crime Stoppers.
The province's chief inspector, Paul Melanson, said the SPCA will recommend to the Crown that charges be laid under Section 18.1 of the SPCA Act, which outlines provisions for the proper care of animals, including proper housing, adequate space, clean water, proper sanitation and ventilation.
All of the dogs were taken to an undisclosed shelter. They will be cleaned up, examined by a vet and treated for fleas, mites and ear infections. If, after 30 days, the owners do not comply with the regulations and can't afford the multiplying vet and shelter fees, the animals will become property of the SPCA. They will then be put up for adoption.
For nearly two hours Wednesday morning, inspectors carried out crates of puppies and adult dogs to trucks waiting in the driveway. Furry little faces peered out from behind the mesh wire doors, while the puppies huddled together at the back of two other crates. Two little apricot-coloured poodles shivered together nearby, likely more from fear than the cold.
The same pungent smell evident in the trailer allegedly emanated from the back of the SPCA trucks that carted the animals away.
The owners, meanwhile, are surprised that anyone would find fault with their breeding operation. Trena Fanjoy and her mother Alma said the dogs were well taken care of.
Ms. Fanjoy said the dogs were always well fed, never abused or neglected, and not cramped by the confined area of the trailer. She said her dogs had free reign in the trailer during the day and were only locked in their cages at night.
Mrs. Fanjoy, 69, said the dogs were her life - "that and my knitting." Ms. Fanjoy said the silence was eerie after the dogs were taken. "It's like having your kids taken away from you."
She said her mother hadn't stopped crying since the dogs were taken. She worried her mother would suffer a heart attack from the experience.
She also worries about Teddy the pekinese. At 16, he was the eldest of the dogs, and she worries that the traumatic experience may kill him. She fears the dog won't eat away from the only home he's ever known.
Ms. Fanjoy said she and her mother have been breeding dogs for 12 years, although she admits their kennel licence, issued by the province, expired in February and has never been renewed.
Most of her dogs resemble Shih Tzus, although none of the dogs have registration papers. The expectant mothers are set to give birth to pekinese-Shih Tzu mixes, poodle-Shih Tzu mixes, and corgi-Shih Tzu mixes. All were set to be sold for $200.
Ms. Fanjoy said the "purebreds" sell for $300.
The most recent litters of Shih Tzus had been advertised in the Buyer Flyer. Ms. Fanjoy said two of them, for whom deposits were paid, were supposed to be picked up today. She said she doesn't know how she will come up with the money to reimburse the buyers.
She also doesn't know how she will afford the upgrades to her trailer and the mounting bills with the SPCA. She vows to try to find the money somehow.
"They're worth it. They're part of my family." References
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