Breeder: Dorcas Swartzentruber
Address: 9754 County Rd 1300 E
City, State, Zip: Loogootee, IN 47553
USDA License: none
Date and time of CAPS Investigation: 4/16/24; 1401
Weather at time of investigation: 85°F and partly cloudy
Approximate number of dogs and puppies observed at time of investigation: four dogs
Breeds: Boxers, Boston Terrier
The kennel was a shed, about 10’ long and five feet wide, with dirt dog pens attached to it. The pens had indoor portions, accessible through doggie doors. There were three outdoor pens: one about 40’ wide and long had a single Boxer; another pen about 20’ wide and long had two Boxers and a Boston Terrier; a third pen was about 20’ long and six feet wide. None of the pens had dog toys in them. The doggie door of the largest pen had a metal door on it that was propped open with a cinder block, and the pen containing three dogs had a doggie door that was simply a hole cut in the barn, with no windbreak on it or door on it at all. The smallest pen had a closed metal doggie door, with no dogs visible in the outdoor pen, which had two wooden pallets and an overturned plastic bucket inside.
The pen containing the single Boxer also had a food dish with dirty stains covering its surfaces. Dirt and grime were evident across the lower portions of the barn and the two metal doggiedoors as well.
The breeder is connected to the following stores:
Petland Novi, Novi, MI (CVI 2023)
I investigated Petland Novi on 3/19/24. An employee showed me a video of dogs playing in a grass yard to demostrate the types of facilities used by their breeders. He claimed that the stores’ breeders have “socialization rooms.” The tiny shed and empty, dirt pens of Swartzentruber’s facility are nothing like what the employee showed me.
The Barking Boutique, Grand Rapids, MI (CVI 2023)
I investigated The Barking Boutique on 3/21/24. An employee told me that the store’s breeders have “a very open space” which she described as “fields” for dogs to roam in. The dirt pens without enrichment of the Swartzentruber kennel are not what the employee described.
