Breeder: Merle Coblentz
Address: 11878 Hilltop Rd
City, State, Zip: Baltic, OH 43804
USDA License: 31-A-0626
Date and time of CAPS Investigation: 7/13/25, about 1430
Weather at time of investigation: 83°F and mostly cloudy
Number of dogs and puppies noted in a 5/13/25 USDA inspection: 54 dogs and 41 puppies
There were two kennel buildings tucked behind the woods on the south end of the property. Each was a barn with seven indoor/outdoor runs on one side. I could see the outdoor portions, which each appeared to be about 10’ long and were of varying widths between about three and five feet. They had wire walls, and one barn’s outdoor runs had concrete floorings while the others had slatted floorings raised above the ground. I saw about one to three dogs per pen in which I could see dogs. A short section of each outdoor pen was under an overhang from the roof of the attached building.
What appeared to be long water hoses were on the north side of each building, and I could see a PVC tube running along the ground on the south side of one building, presumably for water to flow out of that had been used for washing out dogs’ runs.
Breeder is connected to the following stores:
Forever Love Puppies, address listed as 1835 East Hallandale Beach #439, Hallandale Beach, FL 33024 (address is a UPS Store mailbox, information obtained from CVI 2024)
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.” The average customer does not imagine dogs in commercial runs, hosed down to clean them like they are livestock pens, as “lovingly raised.”
