Breeder: Wendie and Doug Dettbarn
Business name: Purple Heart Kennel
Address: 34784 Saint Sebald Rd.
City, State Zip: Strawberry Point, IA 52076
Year: 2015
USDA License: 42-A-0873
Date of CAPS Investigation: 03/23/15
CAPS Investigation: 03/23/15
Weather at time of investigation: 32 degrees Fahrenheit, cloudy (frozen conditions with about three inches of snow on the ground)
Breeds: Huskies, Poodles, Beagles, Pomeranians, Shiba Inus, Corgis, Cocker Spaniels, English Springer Spaniels, Lhasa Apsos, Basset Hounds
Approximate number of dogs observed at time of investigation: 60 dogs
Dettbarn’s kennel is located north of the residence on the property and divided into three sections. The western and eastern parts of the kennel included outdoor dog runs, and there was a kennel building between them with outdoor cages attached to its eastern and western walls. The building appeared to be used for whelping, as I noticed a pregnant Husky and Corgi in two of the cages.
Eastern kennel building
The eastern kennel area consisted of five rows of dog pens with concrete floorings and chain link walls. The pens in four of the rows included plastic dog houses for shelter, while the pens in the fifth row had doggie-doors for accessing a metal building adjoining the runs. The pens in the three middle rows had plastic dog houses with plastic flaps over their entrances, while the southern row of pens had plastic igloo-style dog houses with no plastic flaps covering their entrances. The surfaces of the plastic flaps and plastic water dishes had dark brown grime built up on their surfaces (Sec 3.1 Housing Facilities, general (c) Surfaces (1) General requirements). The four rows of pens with dog houses each had four dog runs. Tarps and metal sheets partially covered most of the runs on their western sides and tops. The pens had metal and plastic water and food dishes on their floorings or metal self-feeders attached to the walls. The water dishes had about one to two inches of snow and ice covering them, and most had an opening in the ice, of about one to inches in diameter, where the dogs apparently licked through the ice to get to the water (Sec. 3.10 Watering). Ice and snow covered the pen floorings. The accumulation of fecal matter signaled the pen floorings had not been cleaned up in more than 24 hours (Sec 3.11 Cleaning, Sanitization, Housekeeping, and Pest Control (a) Cleaning of primary enclosures).
There were one to three dogs of various breeds per run. A middle run had two dog houses in it, but I only saw one dog in the enclosure; it appeared to be a gray Poodle that walked from one dog house to another. The dog’s fur was heavily matted, with mats three inches long covering the dog’s back and the top of the dog’s legs (Sec 2.40 Attending Veterinarian and Adequate Veterinary Care (a) Adequate veterinary care). The mats were a lighter brown color, compared to the gray on the rest of the dog’s body (Sec 3.6 Primary Enclosures (a) General requirements (2)(v) Enable dogs to remain dry and clean). A black plastic dish on the floor was covered in brown stains and chewed heavily around the rim (Sec 3.1 Housing Facilities, general (c) Surfaces (2) Maintenance and replacement of surfaces). An eastern pen containing two Beagles and a Bassett hound had a metal food dish with bent, jagged edges around its rim (Sec 3.1 Housing Facilities, general (c) Surfaces (1) General requirements (ii) Be free of jagged edges or sharp points). A pen across from the enclosure, housing two Beagles, also had a metal food dish with jagged edges around its bent rim (Sec 3.1 Housing Facilities, general (c) Surfaces (1) General requirements (ii) Be free of jagged edges or sharp points).
A run that adjoined the metal building contained a white Poodle and black Poodle, both with heavily matted fur. The white Poodle had small mats covering the dog’s body at the torso (Sec 2.40 Attending Veterinarian and Adequate Veterinary Care (a) Adequate Veterinarian care), and brown and yellow stains throughout the dog’s fur (Sec 3.6 Primary Enclosures (a) General requirements (2)(v) Enable dogs to remain dry and clean). The black Poodle had matting covering its torso as well; significant matting on the dog’s hindquarters included mats about three inches long and wide, from the top of the Poodle’s hips to its rear knees (Sec 2.40 Attending Veterinarian and Adequate Veterinary Care (a) Adequate veterinary care). The mats were a light brown in color, compared to the dog’s black fur (Sec 3.6 Primary Enclosures (a) General requirements (2)(v) Enable dogs to remain dry and clean).
A white Poodle in an adjacent pen had small mats covering the dog’s torso, and its fur was discolored in various shades brown and yellow (Sec 3.6 Primary Enclosures (a) General requirements (2)(v) Enable dogs to remain dry and clean). A white Lhasa Apso, and a third white dog with long curly hair covered with small mats, also had brown and yellow fur discoloration on various parts of their bodies, particularly their feet, which were stained brown (Sec 3.6 Primary Enclosures (a) General requirements (2)(v) Enable dogs to remain dry and clean).
The five elevated wire cages at two ends of the whelping building were made with wooden frames, treated-wire floorings, and untreated wire walls. Plastic flaps served as doggie doors to indoor enclosures, and those flaps had a thick brown buildup of grime on their outer surfaces (Sec 3.1 Housing Facilities, General (c) Surfaces (1) General requirements). A pen containing a pregnant Corgi had more than 24 hours’ accumulation of fecal matter frozen to the flooring (Sec 3.11 Cleaning, Sanitization, Housekeeping, and Pest Control (a) Cleaning of primary enclosures).
Western kennel building
The western end of the kennel had two rows of four outdoor runs with galvanized wire walls, concrete floorings, plastic water dishes, metal self-feeders, and plastic igloo-style dog houses without coverings on their entrances (Sec 3.4 Outdoor Housing Facilities (b) Shelter from the elements (3) wind and rain breaks). One pen held a single Husky, and another pen held two Huskies, while the remaining pens were empty. Snow and ice covered the pen floorings like the other outdoor dog runs.
