Breeder: Yoder, Delmar Ray
Address: 2607 560th St. SW
City, State Zip: Kalona, IA 52247
Year: 2006
USDA License: 42-A-1203
Date of CAPS Investigation: 2006-07-27
On the premises at the time of inspection: approximately 88 dogs and 33 puppies.
Breeds: Clumber Spaniels, Swiss Mountain Dogs, Pugs, Shih Tzus, Yorkshire Terriers, Poodles, Chihuahuas
Whelping kennel
This facility consisted of several kennel areas. The building closest to his home was a barn with indoor, elevated cages of various sizes, most housing whelping mothers with their puppies. These cages were made of plastic and treated wire and had wire floorings.
Two of these cages were three feet wide and three feet long, one housing a whelping Shih Tzu and four puppies and the other a whelping Yorkshire Terrier and five puppies. The Shih Tzu cage had a large pile of dried feces stuck to its flooring (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures).
In both pens, the puppies’ legs were small enough to protrude through the holes of the wire floorings; similarly, another cage housed a whelping Yorkshire Terrier with several newborn puppies whose legs were small enough to protrude completely through the wire flooring (3.6(a)(2)(x)-Primary enclosures).
A fourth cage of the same size contained seven Swiss Mountain puppies, each about a foot long from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail (3.6(c)(1)(i)-Primary enclosures).
Two elevated cages each contained an adult Swiss Mountain Dog and several whelping puppies. These cages, about five feet long and four feet wide, had treated-wire and plastic walls and treated-wire floorings. The whelping mothers were each about 4.5 feet long from the tips of their noses to the bases of their tails and lacked six inches of space between the tops of their heads and the tops of their cages (3.6(c)(1)(i)-Primary enclosures); (3.6(c)(1)(iii)-Primary enclosures).
Injured/sick dogs
Three other cages, each about five feet long and 2.5 feet wide, were positioned next to each other against the backs of the Swiss Mountain Dog cages. One housed a whelping Clumber Spaniel mother and puppies, another a single adult Clumber Spaniel, and the third contained an adult Pug and a Clumber Spaniel puppy. The single adult Spaniel had a section of skin about six inches long and six inches wide missing from her left side; the wound appeared to be clean and had no visible signs of infection. Yoder pointed out that the dog had been wounded in a fight with another dog and was being treated. When it was pointed out that the Pug had ulcers on both of his eyes – evident by raised vein-like patterns on the eyeballs –the owner had no comment (2.40-Vet care).
All of the cages had water spigots served by PVC piping and metal self feeders attached to the cage walls. Many of the feeders had a dirty build-up on their surfaces (3.11(b)(2)-Sanitization).
Outdoor runs
There were two other kennel areas about a quarter mile from the whelping kennel. One kennel was a barn with about a dozen outdoor runs surrounding it. Each run was about 300 feet long and shaped like a triangle, connected at one point of the triangle to the building with a doggie-door that led to one of several indoor pens. Electric wire separated the pens, which each housed one or two adult Swiss Mountain Dogs.
Another whelping building
A second whelping building was nearby, with a row of eight enclosures on one side and two rows of eight enclosures, one on top of the other, on the opposite side of the building. The outdoor cage of each enclosure was made of treated wire, and a metal doggie door allowing access to an indoor cage. Each cage housed one or two adult dogs, and some also housed whelping puppies.
During the investigation, a black Poodle puppy in one of these enclosures came outside and its legs protruded through the wire flooring (3.6(a)(2)(x)-Primary enclosures).
More than 24 hours’ accumulation of feces was built up below each cage on plastic sheeting (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures).
Outdoor pens
About 20 elevated outdoor pens were located near this whelping building. Some of the pens were positioned in rows of three, others stood by themselves. Each pen consisted of a cage with untreated, thin-gauge-wire walls and untreated, rusting, thick-gauge wire floorings (3.1(c)(1)(i)-Surfaces) and a wooden dog house accessible from the cage via a doggie door without a windbreak (3.4(b)(3)-Shelter from the elements). The dog houses were covered in peeling white paint (3.1(c)(2)-Surfaces). One or two Airedale Terriers were in each cage.
Metal self feeders positioned on the floorings against the walls of the cages were not placed so as to minimize contamination by excreta and had rust and a dirty build-up on their surfaces (3.9(b)-Feeding); (3.11(b)(2)-Sanitization). Water dishes also were on the floors.
Several days’ accumulation of feces was built up under each pen and had attracted swarms of flies (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures); (3.11(d)-Pest control).
