Breeder: Blank, David
City, State Zip: Gap, PA 17527
Year: 2005
USDA License: 23-A-0248
Date of CAPS Investigation: 2005-02-24
Approximately 30 dogs. Breeds: Miniature Pinschers, Standard Poodles, Pugs, Cocker Spaniels, Shih Tzu, Maltese, Bichon Frises, Jack Russell Terriers, Dachshunds, Schnauzers
This kennel consisted of an enclosed housing structure and a separate, fenced-in area with outdoor cages.
Outdoor cages
The outdoor area measured about 30 feet wide and 50 feet long and was bounded by the enclosed structure on one side and a five-foot-high painted wooden fence. This area included two adjacent cages each about two feet wide, four feet long, and two feet high. They were framed with painted wooden beams and had walls and roofs made of untreated, thin-gauge wire (3.6(a)(2)(xii) Primary enclosures) and floorings made of treated wire. One housed two adult Shih Tzu with severely matted fur (2.40-Vet Care), and the other cage was empty.
A wooden box about two feet in all dimensions was attached at the back of each cage and accessible by a doggie-door with no windbreak on it (3.4(b)(3)-Shelter from the elements). The cages were raised about two feet above the ground on wooden stilts, and there was more than 24 hours’ accumulation of feces, mixed with sawdust, under one of them (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures).
There were three more outdoor cages within twenty feet of the enclosed kennel. These adjacent cages were about 3.5 feet wide, five feet long, and 3.5 feet high. They were framed with painted wooden beams and had walls and roofs made of untreated thin-gauge wire and flooring made of treated wire. Each included a wooden box 3.5 feet in all dimensions, accessible through doggie-doors with windbreaks. One cage housed four adult Shih Tzu, another housed four adult Standard Poodles, and the third housed four adult Cocker Spaniels. The Shih Tzu and Poodles were all covered with thick, large mats (2.40-Vet Care).
The cages were raised about two feet above the ground on wooden stilts, and there was more than 24 hours’ accumulation of feces, mixed with saw-dust, under one of them (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures).
Plastic barrels measuring one foot wide and three feet high were inside the cages, positioned against the wall facing the enclosed kennel. They had a section one foot wide and one foot high cut out to provide access inside.
Each cage had a plastic water dish filled with ice (3.10-Watering).
Enclosed building
The kennel building was about 30 feet wide and 50 feet long with wooden walls, a peaked metal roof, and several windows on both long sides of the building.
Inside the building were two rows of four adjacent cages each. They were about five feet wide, five feet long, and two feet high and housed three to five dogs. One housed an adult Maltese, a Jack Russell Terrier, and a Shih Tzu. The Maltese, weighing about five pounds, had large, thick mats all over its body. One of these fur mats was about two inches thick and wide and three inches long and completely covered the animal’s right eye (2.40-Vet Care).
Another of these cages housed an adult King Charles Cavalier and three Shih Tzu. The Shih Tzu had matted fur (2.40-Vet Care), and one huddled in the corner of its cage, shaking, during the entire observation period.
Another row of five adjacent cages was positioned along the wall with the kennel doorway, each measuring about two feet wide, three feet long, and two feet high. At the backs of these cages were wooden boxes about two feet in all dimensions and accessible through open doggie-doors. Each cage contained two dogs weighing about three to seven pounds.
The cage closest to the kennel doorway housed an adult Miniature Pinscher and a Shih Tzu. The Miniature Pinscher, a female weighing about five pounds, was missing fur from her upper hind legs, left hip, and around her eyes. Where fur was missing, the skin was swollen, grey, scaly, and cracking with pus and blood oozing out. The top of this animal’s eye sockets were swollen about three times their original size (2.40-Vet Care).
These cages had painted wooden-beam frames, walls and roofs made of untreated, thin-gauge wire, and treated wire for floorings. They were raised about 2.5 feet above the concrete flooring on wooden stilts. There were rusting metal beams under the floorings (3.1(c)(1)-Surfaces) and clumps of fur and feces hanging from the floorings (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures).
There were plastic and metal dishes on the cage floorings for food and water, and the food dishes were not placed so as to minimize contamination by excreta (3.9(b)-Feeding).
An empty dog food bag was in the doorway of the wooden box in the Miniature Pinscher cage. It appeared to have chewed and shredded by the dogs (3.1(b)-Condition and site).
