Breeder: Lorton, Betty
Business name: Lorton’s Puppy Land
Address: Rd 1 – Box 93 (93 2100 E)
City, State Zip: Beecher City, IL 62414
Year: 2006
USDA License: 33-A- 0311
Date of CAPS Investigation: 2006-06-11
Time of CAPS Investigation: 16:25
Breeds: Shelties, Boston Terriers, Jack Russell Terriers, Great Pyrenees, Shih Tzus, Miniature Pinschers, Pomeranians, Basset Hounds, Chihuahuas
Lorton’s Puppy Land had several kennel areas.
First kennel area
The kennel closest to the Lortons’ house consisted of a row of four outdoor pens with concrete floorings and galvanized wire walls. One pen housed five Pomeranians, another had four Pomeranians, a third contained three Pomeranians, and the fourth housed two, 40-pound Great Pyrenees puppies. Each of the Pomeranian pens contained a wooden dog house about two feet wide and three feet long. There were no windbreaks (3.4(b)(3)-Shelter from the elements).
The dog houses in the five-dog pen and the four-dog pen were not large enough to hold all the dogs in the pen without the animals lying on top of each other (3.4(b)-Shelter from the elements).
The Pyrenees pen had a wooden dog house about 2.5 feet wide and 3.5 feet long that lacked a windbreak and was not large enough to hold both puppies at once without them lying on top of each other (3.4(b)-Shelter from the elements) (3.4(b)(3)-Shelter from the elements)
Plastic water buckets were on the pen floorings, and metal self-feeders were attached to the walls. Several days’ accumulation of feces, swarming with flies, appeared to have been washed out of the pens and was piled up outside the pens (3.11(c)-Housekeeping for premises); (3.11(d) Pest control).
Second kennel area
Another kennel area was made up of about a dozen outdoor runs with concrete floors, rusting galvanized wire walls, and a metal roof. Fecal stains covered the floorings (3.1(c)(3)-Surfaces).
Each pen contained two or three dogs of various breeds, including Boston Terriers and Jack Russell Terriers. One Boston Terrier pen had rusty wire at the bottom of one wall protruding into the pen (3.1(c)(1)(ii)-Surfaces). The protruding wire was a thinner gauge than the actual wall wiring, and it was wrapped around the bottom of the wall.
Rusting metal water buckets were attached to the walls of each pen. An accumulation of feces, about five feet long and half as wide and high, that was warming with flies covered the cement walkway near the pens (3.11(c)-Housekeeping for premises); (3.11(d)-Pest control).
Third kennel area
Near the second kennel area were two hog pens that had been converted to dog enclosures. One was empty; and the other was occupied by three Shelties, one of which had large mats in its fur (2.40-Vet care).
The pen was a wooden hog house attached to a rusting wire cage that had no roof and an untreated, thick-gauge rusting wire flooring (3.1(c)(1)(i)-Surfaces).
Weeks of feces accumulation was evident under the flooring and mashed into the corners of the house, which had an empty water bucket and feeder inside (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures). The dog house had no windbreak (3.4(b)(3)-Shelter from the elements).
A metal self-feeder was attached to the cage (outside pen) where it was exposed to rain (3.9(b)-Feeding). A metal water holder in the outside pen contained floating algae and water so dingy it was almost black (3.10 Watering).
Whelping kennel
An enclosed whelping building had several rooms with elevated cages. One room contained two rows each of six cages that were made of treated wire. Each cage had plastic self-feeder and self-watering dish. One cage that held two Miniature Pinscher puppies had a section of rusting wire attached to its front (3.1(c)(1)(i)-Surfaces).
There were two to three puppies of various breeds per cage. One cage housed a whelping Sheltie mother and three puppies. The Sheltie cage was about four feet long and two feet wide and two feet high. Because the mother dog was more than 2.5 feet long from the tip of her nose to the base of her tail, she lacked six inches of space from the top of her head to the top of her cage when she stood in a normal manner on all four feet (3.6(c)(1)(ii) and (iii)-Primary enclosures).
More than 24 hours’ accumulation of feces, covered with flies, was evident under each cage (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures); (3.11(d)-Pest control).
A whelping Shih Tzu mother and three puppies were in a cage of the same size as the Sheltie cage noted above. The mother was about 18 inches long from the tip of her nose to the base of her tail (3.6(c)(1)(ii)-Primary enclosures). The puppies’ paws fell through the wire flooring as they moved about the cage (3.6(a)(2)(x)-Primary enclosures).
A table just inside the doorway of the room was covered with medical supplies, syringes and needles, a lighter, a bucket of eggs, and various supplies. Plastic dog carriers were stored underneath the table. A sink and a second table in the room also stored cleaning supplies (3.1(b)-Condition and site).
Another room in the building contained dozens of elevated cages made of galvanized wire with treated-wire floorings. These cages each had a metal self-feeder and self-watering dish. Each cage, about two feet wide and four feet long, housed one or two dogs. Three cages housed Jack Russell Terriers, each about two feet long from the tips of their noses to the bases of their tails. Another cage housed two Jack Russell Terriers, and another cage housed two Shih Tzus – all of these dogs were about 1.5 feet long from the tips of their noses to the bases of their tails (3.6(c)(1)(i)-Primary enclosures). The other cages in the room were empty.
A third room contained about 20 whelping cages made of treated wire. Each cage had a wooden whelping box attached to it, the surfaces of which were worn and heavily scratched (3.1(c)(1)-Surfaces). About half of the cages contained a whelping mother and puppies of various small breeds.
Fifth kennel area
A separate kennel area housed two rows of ten dog pens on concrete floorings. The walls were chain link and rusting galvanized wire. Half of the pens each contained two Basset Hounds, while the remaining pens each contained five Shih Tzus or Chihuahuas. Metal and plastic self-feeders were attached to the walls, and plastic water buckets containing brown water were latched to the chain link near them. One metal feeder in a Shih Tzu pen was loose from the wall. The bottom of the feeder rested on the flooring, so it wasn’t placed to minimize contamination by excreta (3.9(b)-Feeding).
A plastic, igloo-style dog house with no windbreak was attached to the back of each pen (3.9(b)(3)-Shelter from the elements).
A metal roof covered the pens. There was no protection around the walls, so all surfaces of these pens were wet (3.1(f)-Drainage and waste disposal).
