Breeder: Eli Hostetler
Address: 8899 CR 45
City, State, Zip: Holmesville, OH 44633
USDA License: Cancelled as of 2/1/24 (formerly 31-A-0653)
Date and time of CAPS Investigation: 7/15/25, 0927
Weather at time of investigation: 76°F and sunny
Number of dogs and puppies noted in a 9/28/23 USDA inspection: 33 dogs and 55 puppies
Main kennel hidden from view
Hostetler’s main kennel was a trailer-like building hidden behind a fence and section of woods at the west side of the property. The building had dog runs attached to its eastern side, and directly in front of the runs was a thin section of woods. On the other side of the woods was a wooden fence. This blocked noise and line of sight to the dogs from the property, and the dogs’ view of almost anything outside their own enclosures. They had a roof extension over them from the trailer as well.
I could only see one enclosures at the side of the row of dog pens, but it appeared to have a wire wall and solid flooring and was attached to the trailer as though there may be an indoor portion of the enclosure as well. The pen appeared to be about six feet long and three wide, and while it was clear there were other pens next to it, I couldn’t see how many.
The main kennel had grass about a foot tall growing around it, with what appeared to be a plastic bag by the doorway, and a piece of carpet on the lawn a few feet away. The back wall of the kennel had numerous flat objects resembling trays leaned against it, most the size of pallets. Several pieces of carpet were draped over them or laying in the grass nearby.
Outdoor pens
There were several outdoor pens in the immediate area. One was a small, empty pen made of wire walls, set on the grass about 10’ from the kennel building. There were also three long grassy pens nearby, each about 200’ long ad 30’ wide, one of which had a plastic igloo-style doghouse in it, as well as a plastic enclosure and wooden enclosure that appeared to be sized for small livestock. The plastic enclosure was the kind normally used for raising calves. The other two grassy runs had small barns at one end of them, with roof extensions over their fronts. I saw what appeared to be a large black dog in one pen, just before the animal entered one of the shed-like structures. Two other plastic calf pens were in a field on the other side of a barbed wire fence, accessible through a gate near the dog kennel. What appeared to be two large brown dogs were laying at the fence line, barely visible in the shade near tall bushes.
Breeder is connected to the following stores:
Forever Love Puppies, Pembroke Pines, FL (information obtained from CVI 2021)
Evidence contradicting store’s claims:
Forever Love Puppies has several locations in Florida. They claim on their website to use “Always Top Breeders,” and say, “We exclusively collaborate with licensed breeders, ensuring your new companion is both lovingly raised and well-bred.” In addition, Forever Love Puppies claims their breeders use the “highest quality standards.” However, from May, 2023, to January, 2024 (the most recent point at which I was able to access USDA inspection reports for Hostetler as of the time I prepared this report), Hostetler had 13 violations amongst six different inspections.
Some violations were for torn pieces of carpet in enclosures, and others were for not keeping medical records on dogs, including two dogs diagnosed with having heartworm (female Golden Retriever #6973 and female Golden Retriever #2943).
The inspection report from 5/8/23 had numerous violations, including “a missing section of fiberglass wall board,” “dirt, grease, and other excreta accumulating on the interior wood wall in two outdoor sheltered structures and the interior fiberglass wall in one enclosure.” Three outdoor enclosures housing 20 dogs had no shade, and Hostetler had no record of an annual rabies vaccine for 39 dogs.
A 6/30/23 inspection had a cleaning violation, noting an outdoor enclosure housing six dogs had a “buildup of brown material” on all of the inside walls of their sheltered structure, and in a third outdoor enclosure housing 3 dogs the walls of the sheltered structure are soiled with green and brown material.” The inspector noted, “The buildup of material covers a significant portion of the sheltered structures.” A violation was also issued that day for Hostetler having no contingency plan for the dogs in case of an emergency or natural disaster.
Other violations were for no adult being on site to allow the inspector into the kennel. With such a pattern of violations, it may have benefited Hostetler to not be present when an inspector arrived.
