Breeder: Daniel Lambright
Kennel Name: River Bend Pets
Address: 1930 W 700 S
City, State, Zip: Wolcottville, IN 46795
USDA License: 32-A-0917
Date and time of CAPS Investigation: 2/28/25, 1325
Weather at time of investigation: 54°F and sunny
Approximate number of dogs and puppies observed at time of investigation: 12
Number of adult dogs and puppies at last USDA inspection: 38 adults and 34 puppies on 6/23/21
Breeds: Cocker Spaniels, small white dogs that appeared to be Bichons
Daniel Lambright is a Canine Care Certified (CCC) breeder.
The kennel was a building with about eight indoor/outdoor runs on its eastern and western sides. Runs were about four feet wide, 10 feet long, had concrete floorings and galvanized wire walls, and most of the pens had their view obstructed by privacy fences set 15 feet in front of the runs. These fences blocked the views of all but the southernmost runs’ dogs to anything outside the immediate kennel area. I saw one to four dogs per run, though my view was limited to only a few of the runs.
A play area with crushed rock flooring surrounded the runs. The play area had a small section of plastic playground equipment in it, resembling a doghouse on stilts with steps going up to it and a plastic tube coming off of it at another end. However, no dogs were in the play area as I viewed the kennel. Dogs just paced in and out of the doggie doors of their runs, looking south or towards the fence in front of them while barking at any noises they heard.
Evidence contradicting claims by The Canine Care Certified Program
The Canine Care Certified (CCC) program is a voluntary national certification for dog breeders, created by the Center for Animal Welfare Science at Purdue University. CAPS believes that the purpose of the program is primarily one of marketing: to increase the sale of puppies online and in pet shops by whitewashing the commercial dog breeding industry.
While the CCC program may sound impressive to those who are not familiar with the pet shop and puppy mill industry, and while conditions at some of the dog breeding facilities may be improved as a result of certification, the breeders who participate in the program still run commercial breeding facilities that mass produce dogs for resale—puppy mills. Dogs are still living in livestock conditions and used for breeding to produce puppies that are sold at pet shops and online. The puppies are often transported to brokers, such as Missouri-based Pinnacle Pet (which is closely aligned with the CCC program). After spending several days at a brokerage facility, puppies then get transported to pet shops all over the United States and even to other countries. Some breeders sell puppies through the online broker PBT Marketplace but then must find transport services to get those puppies to pet shops.
The above-mentioned broker Pinnacle Pet also runs a “dog adoption agency” for “retired” breeding dogs called A Dog’s Dream. But nowhere on the website for A Dog’s Dream does it say that the “rescue” is run by a puppy mill broker and is located across the street from the brokerage facility. Though there are clues that the nonprofit is industry-run, such as this statement on its website: “Your support matters the most to us! Without avid dog lovers like you, the pet industry would be at a complete loss.” Their list of supporters includes Pinnacle Pet, Pinnacle Vet Clinic, Petland Charities, and two Oklahoma Petland stores. The website also has a page about the CCC program with a link to Purdue’s CCC website.
CCC’s website states that one of their “Standards Emphasis Areas” is on “Housing,” noting the importance of “quality and quantity of space, temperature and air quality, outdoor access, exercise area, and quarantine.” Lambright’s primary enclosures only give dogs enough space to take a few steps before having to turn around again. Furthermore, placing a single piece of playground equipment in a yard, and then not giving dogs access to it on a weekday afternoon when the weather is good, does not provide proper enrichment for dogs, most of whom are spending years living inside a breeding kennel. This is the setup of a commercial puppy mill, made efficient for purposes of cleaning and for keeping the facility secret from the outside world.
The CCC website states, under “Puppies & Juveniles,” that puppies receive “socialization” and that there is “care and training for juvenile dogs.” There is no way that Lambright socializes and trains every puppy that he weans and sells by eight weeks of age, nor does any commercial breeder.
The CCC website states, under “Behavioral Wellness,” that dogs are given “Problem prevention, training, socialization, enrichment, exercise, handling, and positive caretaker interactions.” I have never seen any commercial breeder take time to socialize, train, and play with their dozens of dogs. Lambright’s kennel is designed for efficiency of cleaning and breeding, not for socialization and training.
The CCC website states, under “Staffing & Caretaker Education,” that they require an “Evidence-based approach to staffing numbers” and “Requirements for Continuing Education.” This is a nonsensical claim. Very few commercial dog breeding facilities employ people to work at them. Facilities like Lambright’s are designed to be cleaned and maintained with minimal effort to avoid having employees.
The CCC website states: “Like you, we love dogs. We want to support good breeders and end “puppy mills.” Canine Care Certified™ helps breeders meet high standards for welfare, and helps ensure that puppies come from a kennel where dogs are treated well.” This is a misleading statement. Lambright’s facility, because it commercially breeds dogs for profit, is a puppy mill. Furthermore, keeping dogs in pens without enrichment of any kind is not what the public thinks of as treating dogs “well.”
Breeder is connected to the following stores:
Petland Pembroke Pines, 356 N University Dr, Pembroke Pines, FL 33024 (information obtained from CVI 2024)
Peltand Naples, 1000 Immokalee Rd Ste 40, Naples, FL 34110 (information obtained from CVI 2024)
Petland Racine, 2310 S Green Bay Rd Suite J, Racine, WI 53406 (information obtained from Petland Racine website)
Evidence contradicting claims made by Petland:
When I visited Petland Pembroke Pines on 5/12/22, employees showed me videos of dogs running in open grassy fields to demonstrate how their breeders keep their dogs. Videos like these are routintely shown at Petlands and are on the Petland websites, including the one for Petland Racine. Lambright’s kennel has no access to grassy fields for dogs, who are kept in concrete runs. I documented the facility in the afternoon, in cool weather, on a weekday, and yet no dogs were outside their pens playing. Furthermore, placing a single piece of playground equipment in a yard that is unused by dogs in good weather on an afternoon does not provide proper enrichment for dogs who spend years living in breeding kennels.
