Breeder: Kauffman, David
Address: 14544 225th St.
City, State Zip: Bloomfield, IA 52537
Year: 2006
USDA License: 42-A-0958
Date of CAPS Investigation: 2006-09-09
Time of CAPS Investigation: 11:33
On the premises at the time of investigation: approximately 42 dogs and one puppy
Breeds: Yorkshire Terriers, Pembroke Welsh Corgis, Labradors, Keeshounds, Weimaraners, Jack Russell Terriers
Kauffman’s kennel consisted of three kennel structures: Two groups of outdoor elevated wire cages, and a series of large dog runs.
Dilapidated outdoor cages
This first group of outdoor cages had walls, roofs, and even floorings of made of untreated, thin-gauge wire (3.6(a)(2)(xii)-Primary enclosures). The wire floorings were rusting (3.1(c)(1)(i)-Surfaces). Metal beams under the floorings supported the cages; however, the wire was sagging between all of the beams (3.1(a)-Structure; construction).
One wire wall had caved into another cage by several inches (3.1(a)-Structure; construction). The gaps in the wire walls were large enough that the dogs and puppies inside could stick their heads and necks completely through (3.1(a)-Structure; construction).
The cages were attached to wooden boxes via metal dog doors. The doors and walls had brown build-up on their surfaces (3.1(c)(3)-Cleaning).
Two cages were apparently empty, another housed a Labrador puppy about eight weeks old and an adult Keeshound, another cage housed a Yorkie and Corgi, and the last cage housed a single Corgi. The single Corgi had very overgrown toenails that were about three inches long (2.40-Veterinary care).
All of the occupied pens, and one that appeared empty, had more than a week’s accumulation of dry feces on their floorings (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures). Weeks’ accumulation of feces was piled underneath each cage as well, with flies swarming the area (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures); (3.11(d) Pest control).
Plastic and metal water dishes in the cages had a dingy brown build-up on their surfaces (3.10-Watering). A yellow plastic water dish was chewed and torn around its rim, making it difficult to clean (3.10-Watering). The Yorkie/Corgi cage had an overturned metal water dish in it (3.10-Watering) and sharp metal wire about ten inches long protruding from its flooring (3.1(c)(1)(ii)-Surfaces).
Outdoor Yorkie cages
The second structure consisted of two elevated cages connected to wooden boxes via metal doggie doors. The cages, framed and supported by wooden beams, had untreated wire walls, treated wire floorings, and plastic self feeders. There were three Yorkies in each cage.
Several days’ accumulation of fly-covered fecal matter was under the cages (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures); (3.11(d)-Pest control).
Converted hog building
The third kennel structure was a hog building converted to a dog kennel. There were about 15 pens in this sheltered housing facility, each with a wire door, concrete flooring and concrete walls about five feet tall with wire walls constructed above them. At the end of each pen near the doorway was a barred metal slab in the flooring, as wide as the pen and about four feet in length, covering a pit below to collect feces and urine. There were pools of filthy water within about eight inches of the metal bars (3.1(f)-Drainage and waste disposal).
Most of these pens housed two dogs each; a few contained three dogs. In a pen holding three Labradors, a metal beam was missing from the flooring, which created a gap about six inches across and four feet long (3.1(a)-Structure; construction).
Each pen contained a metal hog self-feeder on the door or on the floor, and a plastic water dish on the floor. The dishes and feeders were all covered in fecal stains, and many of the food dishes were not placed so as to minimize contamination by excreta or pests (3.9(b)-Feeding); (3.10-Watering).
Each pen contained one to two plastic dog houses without windbreaks (3.3(d)-Shelter from the elements. All of the dog houses were covered in smeared feces and fecal stains (3.1(c)(3)-Cleaning). Many of these dog houses were blue plastic barrels about five feet long and two feet wide – not large enough to allow a single dog inside to turn about freely or lie in a normal manner (3.3(d)-Shelter from the elements). Although wooden boards were positioned in front of the barrels to prevent them from rolling, the barrels had rolled around so that the dogs could not access their entrances (3.3(d)-Shelter from the elements). The housing for three Weimaraners was not only too small for all three dogs to fit inside (3.3(d)-Shelter from the elements) but had a chewed entrance (3.1(a)-Structure; construction).
Weeks’ accumulation of fecal matter was packed into the pen floorings. Some pen floorings were also covered with a layer of fur and scattered food remnants (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures).
The concrete walls of the pens had a brown build-up on their surfaces (3.1(c)(3)-Cleaning). An enormous amount of flies were in the air and covered the surfaces of the kennel area (3.11(d)-Pest control). Wire and metal bars in the all the runs were rusty (3.1(c)(1)(i)-Surfaces).
Jack Russell Terrier cage
A single, elevated Jack Russell cage was located at one end of the hog barn kennel. It had untreated-wire walls, treated-wire flooring, and metal beams for stilts and support. It appeared that a curved plastic sheet about 10 inches high at one end of this cage was added to serve as a roof against rain entering the building at its one open side; however, there was no windbreak for the cage (3.3(d)-Shelter from the elements).
There was a plastic self feeder on one wall and more than 24 hours’ accumulation of fecal matter under the cage (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures).
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