Breeder: Moeller, Melvin and Dean
Address: 116 Ave F
City, State Zip: West Point, IA 52656
Year: 2007
USDA License: 42-A-0841
Date of CAPS Investigation: 2007-02-25
On the premises at the time of investigation: approximately 100 dogs and 50 puppies.
Breeds: Dachshunds, Shiba Inus, Beagles, Weimereiners, Vizlas, Hounds, Chihuahuas, Bichons
USDA kennel
A man who identified himself as Shorty Moeller showed me the kennel located on the east side of 250th Ave in West Point, IA, just south of Highway 16. The indoor kennel building had about 40 elevated cages made with plastic walls and wire doors and floorings. Each cage housed either a nursing mother and puppies or two to three adult breeders. The whelping cages had plastic boxes in them to contain the puppies while nursing. An automatic water spigot and plastic self-feeder was attached to each cage.
Hunting dog kennel
The sheltered building housed hunting dogs and had two separate sections. In one section there was a row of about ten cages elevated on wooden stilts, with wooden frames and plastic grating for walls and flooring. Each cage housed two adult dogs, either Beagles, Hounds, Weimaraners, or Vizlas. Water dishes and plastic self feeders were in each cage.
There was several days’ accumulation of feces under each cage; feces also was piled nearly foot deep on the wire floorings of several of the cages.
The second kennel section included six cages on concrete floorings with chain link walls. Each pen housed two adult hunting dogs, either Weimereiners, Hounds, Beagles, or Vizlas, and included self-feeders, water dishes, and plastic dog houses.
These pen floorings were completely coated in feces, with not a square inch of floor space clean.
Further, all of the dog houses were coated in dried feces.
The sheltered building also housed cattle between the two kennel areas within the structure.
