Breeder: Vicki Tidwell
Kennel name: TNT Kennel
Address: 733 VZ CR 3606
City, State, Zip: Edgewood, TX 75117
USDA License: 74-A-1401
Date and time of CAPS Investigation: 10/31/20, 1030
Weather at time of investigation: 59°F and sunny
Approximate number of dogs and puppies observed at time of investigation: 90 dogs
Breeds: Miniature Schnauzers, Shih Tzu, Pekingese, Lhasa Apsos, Dachshunds, Yorkshire Terriers, Miniature Poodles, Bichon Frises
The kennel was located southwest of the residence on the property, and consisted of a rows of outdoor pens for breeding dogs and a nearby building from which I could hear barking. The building was located within several feet of the northeast corner of the breeding dog pens. It was about 20 feet long and 10 feet wide, with the door closed but the sound of high-pitched barking from dozens of animals audible from inside. The sounds resembled those of small dogs and puppies.
The breeding dog pens were arranged in several rows under a metal roof, with all of the pens on a concrete slab. The pens, each made of chain-link wire, were arranged with three rows of about six pens, and a row of about three pens, arranged parallel to each other and a row of about 10 pens running perpendicular to them. Each pen was about six feet long and three feet wide, contained three dogs of various breeds, one to two plastic dog houses, and metal water buckets latched to the fronts of the pens.
The dog houses lacked windbreaks (3.4 Outdoor housing facilities (b) Shelter from the elements (3)) and had their bottom outside portions covered in a dirty brown buildup several inches along the house walls (3.1 Housing facilities, general (c) Surfaces (3) Cleaning). The beams used as frames for the pen walls had a greyish brown dirty coating on them and rust where the frames met beams used to support walls (3.1 Housing facilities, general (c) Surfaces (3) Cleaning). A Shih Tzu pen on the southeast side of the kennel had loose chain link wire, with at least two pieces of wire broken and sticking into the pen (3.1 Housing facilities, general (a) Structure; construction). A Schnauzer pen, located in the center row of rows that contained six pens each, had peeling silver paint on the bottom frame of the pen’s door, revealing dark rust. The rust had eaten through half of the frame in a section about three inches long on part of the frame (3.1 Housing facilities, general (c) Surfaces (2) Maintenance and replacement of surfaces). The bottom half of the door’s chain link wire had brown and green buildup on its surface (3.1 Housing facilities, general (c) Surfaces (3) Cleaning).
Pen floorings had about 24 hours of manure piled and smeared onto them, but the floorings of the pens were wet. Dogs in several pens had wet, yellow-stained fur on their undersides. This indicates the dogs were lying in urine and that pens were not allowing urine and water to effectively drain from them (3.1 Housing facilities, general (c) Surfaces (1) General requirements).
There were two people shaving dogs at a table in the kennel. One was a Caucasian female, about 35 years old, 5’6”, 160 lbs., with long brown hair tied into a bun at the top of her head. The other was a Caucasian male, about 35 years old, 6’2”, 200 lbs., with short brown hair. The male employee gathered dogs from pens and then brought them to the table for the woman to shave with electric clippers. I saw the man carry six different full-grown dogs to and from the shaving table. He carried two of them under his arm, and a third by putting both of his hands on the dogs stomach and under the dog’s front legs. Three dogs, however, were carried by the scruff of their necks, with the dogs’ bodies held away from the man’s body and the animal’s legs sticking out and immobile. Each of the dogs were small breeds, about 25 lbs. in weight, and two appeared to be Yorkshire Terriers. Being fully grown dogs, the animals weighed too much for such a handling method to be done without causing distress and risking physical harm (3.19 Handling (b) (1) (c)).
The breeder is an internet seller. She sell puppies on PuppyFind.com under the name Vicki Tidwell. https://www.puppyfind.com/breeder_directory/breeder/?acct_id=242249
