Breeder: Floyd Borntrager
Address: 5550 S Becks Mill Rd
City, State, Zip: Salem, IN 47167
USDA License: 32-B-0259
Date and time of CAPS Investigation: 4/17/24; 1335
Weather at time of investigation: 80°F and partly cloudy
Approximate number of dogs and puppies observed at time of investigation: three dogs
Breeds: Bernese Mountain Dog, German Shepherds
I was able to observe dogs at the east end of a metal barn on the property. There were 10 indoor/outdoor concrete runs, their outdoor portions each about eight feet long and four feet wide, with galvanized wire walls. Metal doggie doors allowed access to the runs’ indoor portions. There was a Bernese Mountain Dog in one pen and a German Shepherd in each of two other pens. One of the Shepherds was lying down widthwise across a run, with the dogs hips against a wire wall and nose pointing towards another; there was less than a foot of space between the dog’s nose and the wire. Dogs appeared to have enough space to move a few steps across pens lengthwise, but widthwise could not even take one step before touching the other end of their enclosure.
Outside the runs were four plastic, igloo-style doghouses and a piece of plastic tubing. They were piled near a fenceline about five feet from the runs’ outer walls, at which grass was growing over a foot tall.
Borntrager had seven puppies at his 4/26/24 USDA inspection. He had 12 adults and 22 puppies at his 1/13/23 inspection. At this inspection, the inspector cited Borntrager for a critical violation under 3.1(a) Housing facilities, general of the Animal Welfare Act regulations for not having structurally sound housing facilities that keep animals secure and protect them from injury. The inspecter stated that two adult German Shepherd Dog disappeared from the facility on 7/16/22 and 7/17/22. The licensee told the inspector he suspected that the dogs were stolen because neither dog was ever located.
The breeder is connected to the following store:
Puppygram Metro Detroit, Berkley, MI (CVI 2023)
I investigated Puppy Gram Metro Detroit on 3/19/24. An employee claimed that rescue dogs are bad for kids, and stated that the store does not use puppy mills. The employee dodged numerous questions about puppy mills but claimed the store’s owner, his brother, visits breeders every 10 days. However, Borntrager’s facility is a typical puppy mill, with dogs in small runs that barely offer them enough space to move a few steps back and forth. If the store’s owner has visited Borntrager, this would be evident.
