Breeder: Harris, Wilma
Business name: Harris Country Kennel
Address: RR 2 228 F
City, State Zip: Mansfield, AR 72944
Year: 2004
USDA License: 71-A-0733
USDA Inspector: Jeffrey Baker, ACI
USDA Inspections: 2003-11-06
Date of CAPS Investigation: 2004-08-19, 2004-08-20, 2004-08-21
Approximately 130 dogs and 20 puppies. Breeds: Yorkshire Terriers, English Bulldogs, Dogue de Bordeaux, Labrador Retrievers, Standard Poodles, Poodles, Lhasa Apsos, Cocker Spaniels, Pugs, Brussels Griffons
Wilma Harris’ kennel consisted of two Sundowner kennels about 100 feet from the owners’ house, several outdoor pens set on concrete slabs, and a structure with indoor/outdoor pens similar to a Sundowner kennel but with the all of the cages on a single level. Several other pens set on the dirt ground were linked directly to the Harris house.
Two Sundowner kennels
The two Sundowner kennels were within 15 feet of each other. One was set so that cage ends faced the house. This kennel had Yorkshire Terriers on the bottom level and Brussels Griffons and Yorkshire Terriers on the top level. Two Poodles were in an end cage on the bottom level. In one pen, a Yorkshire Terrier that Harris said was about 11-years-old had thick green mucous around its right eye, which was tearing and twitching (2.40-Veterinary care).
All of the cage doors, including all of the cage doors of every Sundowner outside cage, were made of untreated wire; most were rusting (3.1(c)(1)(i)-Surfaces). Many of the wire ceilings and walls of the Yorkshire Terrier cages were bent as if they had been repeatedly rammed by the dogs inside (3.1(a)-Structure; construction). An outside wire wall of the bottom cage furthest from the road showed about a four-inch gap at the top corner closest to the kennel structure (3.1(a)-Structure; construction).
The underside of the plastic sheeting used to catch feces and debris underneath the top cages was discolored and had large flecks of feces and debris on it (3.11(a)-Cleaning). There was thick, dirty build-up on the metal doggie doors at the backs of the cages and the back walls of the outside enclosures (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures). Loose pen wiring and a 10-foot-long piece of PVC piping were on the ground underneath the bottom row of cages (3.1(b)-Condition and site).
The opposite side of this Sundowner kennel had Poodles and Yorkshire Terriers. The cage doors of the top and bottom level cages of this side of the Sundowner also were made of untreated, rusting wire (3.1(c)(1)(i)-Surfaces). A Poodle in a bottom cage had yellow and brown stains on its white fur (2.40-Vet Care). A dog that appeared to be a cross between a Poodle and West Highland Terrier had long matted fur stained yellow (2.40-Vet Care).
The second Sundowner kennel housed Pugs, Yorkshire Terriers, and Cocker Spaniels. The top cages on each side of this Sundowner held nursing Cocker Spaniels with several puppies whose feet were small enough to slip through the holes in the treated-wire bottoms of their outside cages (3.6(a)(2)(x)-Primary enclosures).
Outdoor pens
An outdoor kennel area had about 10 pens, each pen about four feet wide and six feet wide with six-foot-tall chain link walls. One pen had two, 100-pound Dogue de Bordeaux. Another pen had two 60-pound Standard Poodles. Yet another pen held two 80-pound Labrador Retrievers. Each pen had a single plastic igloo-type dog house about three feet tall, wide, and long – not large enough for both dogs in the pen to lie in it in a normal manner or move about freely within it (3.4(b)-Shelter from the elements). Each pen also had a plastic water container and metal self feeder. Mr. Harris cleaned the concrete floorings of the pens by throwing five gallon buckets of water into the pens with the dogs still in the pens (3.11(a)-Cleaning of Primary enclosures).
Indoor/outdoor pens
Another kennel nearest the road had indoor/outdoor cages of a Sundowner fashion. The four cages, about three feet long, two feet high, and two feet wide, were made of treated wire. The cages closest to the road contained Lhasa Apsos with matted fur (2.40-Vet Care). The cages on the other side of the kennel contained English Bulldogs with less than six inches of space from the tops of their heads to the tops of the outside cages (3.6(c)(1)(iii)-Primary enclosures).
PVC piping ran under each cage, up the cage side, and over the cage top to the indoor enclosure. Each cage had a doggie door at its back for access to the indoor cages. Plastic sheeting was set below the cages for catching feces and debris.
Unsecured green fiberglass panels placed on the piping covered the tops of the cages. Mr. Harris also demonstrated how he cleaned feces off of the bottom paneling under the Lhasa Apso cages by spraying it with a water hose. Some of the Lhasa Apsos did not retreat through their doggie doors to avoid the spray, consequently they were showered with water and feces sprayed against the back walls of their cages (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures).
