Hollys Hounds
Located inside Arnot Mall
330 Chambers Road
Horseheads NY 14845
(607) 796-5117
Date and time of CAPS investigation: 09/01/2018 Time unknown
Approximate number of dogs observed at time of investigation: 13 puppies
Puppies were kept in various kinds of enclosures- caged closed top cages, open top wire enclosure, open top glass enclosure and closed top glass enclosures. Two of these enclosures contained puppies with no food or water available. Bedding in the form of blankets was seen. No cage cards were visible. Two puppies in one of the enclosures were seen fighting. A Disclosure sign was seen near the cages.
(Violation of Article 26-A of the Agriculture and Markets Law, § 401. Minimum standards of animal care, 3. Feeding and watering. (c) Food receptacles shall be provided in sufficient number, of adequate size, and so located as to enable each animal in the primary enclosure or cage to be supplied with an adequate amount of food, (d) Animals shall be provided with regular access to clean, fresh water, supplied in a sanitary manner sufficient for its needs, except when there are instructions from a duly licensed veterinarian to withhold water for medical reasons).
A female employee who gave her name as Tiffany told me that the vet used by the store was Towne and Country in Corning NY, and that the puppies were seen by the owner Dr Michael Carey. Tiffany told me that the store was USDA licensed and that the USDA would check the breeder if they were also licensed. She said that if I had a litter of puppies I could sell them to the store as long as they were eight weeks old and has their shots and dewormer. She gave me the name of the breeder of a specific puppy- Rainbow Creek Kennels, South Butler NY, USDA License: 21-A-0179. She nodded when I asked if this was a professional breeder. She said that all the puppies at the store come from Upstate New York State. Rainbow Creek Kennels made the Humane Society “Horrible Hundred” list in 2018. From the report:
“South Butler, New York: Rainbow Creek – Kennel sold underage puppy; Pekingese dog had rusty chain around the neck and missing fur; another dog was matted in feces.
In August 2017, a USDA inspector found several dogs in need of care at Rainbow Creek, including:
• “A cocker spaniel with “a build up of tarter on the teeth, and the gums are red and irritated. The facility has a plan for dental care in the program of vet care, but this dog has not been identified as needing dental care despite the condition of the mouth.”
• “A Bichon # 238 had matted fur around the feet, ears and anal region. There was fecal debris caught in the fur around the anus.” • “A Pekingese # 128 was wearing a chain collar that was rusted. There was a considerable amount of hair loss around the neck where the chain was. In addition, there was large areas of matted fur behind the ears.”
“In addition, the inspector found that “a Pomeranian puppy id # 677171 was separated from the litter and sold at 7 weeks of age.” The federal Animal Welfare Act and New York state law do not allow the sale of puppies younger than 8 weeks of age. More than 100 dogs were present at the facility during the time of inspection. USDA #21-A-0179”.
Examination of USDA APHIS Inspection Reports shows that Rainbow Creek Kennels was visited by an Inspector (Andrea D Ambrosio #6003) on April 4th 2014 who noted the following (quoted from the report):
“A pug #061 was observed to have its back legs seemingly go out from underneath it several times as it was walking around the enclosure”;
“There are 12 dogs on the records of hand with no ID numbers. All dogs need to be identified through an official number that is unique to that animal. This needs to be addressed in a timely manner when new dogs are acquired”;
“An enclosure housing a pug#277 with the deformed foot has a 1.5 X 1.5 wire mesh floor. This mesh is too wide for the dogs feet and is allowing her feet to pass through the openings of the floor. She needs to be moved to a 1 X 1 mesh enclosure so her feet do not fall through”;
“Several of the puppies in the whelping room are on carpets that are on a 1X1 wire mesh floor. When the puppies come off the carpet, their feet fall through the openings. The whelping room needs to be reqassessed to determine the best housing situation for the puppies to assure they are not on wire mesh too early that would allow their feet to fall through”;
“A female dog that was 46 inches in length was housed in a 5X5ft enclosure. This gives the dog 25 square feet of space which meets the primary enclosure amount, but does not meet the 2X space required to meet the exercise requirement (40.5 sq ft). The current exercise plan lists the dogs as being housed in enclosures that meet this requirement or get time in an outside run. The option of being outside is only occurring when the weather is nice”;
184 Adults dogs and 92 puppies were observed at the time of the inspection.
Rainbow Creek Kennels was revisited by Inspector Andrea D Ambrosio on August 4th 2014 and she noted the following (quoted from the report):
“Two dogs in the whelping room had matted fur with feces trapped around the anal area”;
“One rusted food bowl was removed from an enclosure”;
“The facility has not been sanitized in 4 weeks according to the licensee. There is an accumulation of hair and debris hanging down underneath the wire mesh enclosures. This excess hair traps urine and feces contributing to a stronger odor in the facility”;
“A few of the puppy enclosures in the whelping room that are low to the ground have an accumulation of feces underneath the wire mesh that needs to be cleaned”;
The puppy trays are having shavings changed out weekly, but the actual tray holding the shavings is dirty and has not been sanitized in several weeks”.
“There are a few used dirty empty enclosures in the whelping room that need to be cleaned. The enclosures have been empty for a week”.
A female employee named Lori told me the owner of the store goes and picks up puppies herself from the breeders and affirmed that the owner visits the breeders.
Breeder identified:
Rainbow Creek Kennels, South Butler NY 13154. USDA license: 21-A-0179. There is no record of this breeder on the A Certificate Holder List. Research shows that the USDA license number 21-A-0163 has been used by this facility in the past.
