Breeder: Leroy D. Yoder
Kennel name: Pleasant View Kennel
Address: 7768 Cemetery Rd
City, State, Zip: Utica, MN 55979
USDA license: 41-A-0443
Date and time of CAPS investigation:12/11/07; 16:47
Breeds: Golden Retrievers, Standard Poodles, Miniature Poodles, Pugs, Beagles, Cocker Spaniels, Maltese, Yorkshire Terriers, Shih Tzu, Labrador Retrievers
Approximate number of dogs at the time of the investigation 60 dogs and 20 puppies
Due to the darkness in the kennel, not all the dogs inside could be seen with the naked eye. Therefore, the number of dogs stated above is based on a conversation with Yoder about how many dogs and puppies he had.
Dark kennel
The kennel was so dark inside that I was unable to clearly see a foot in front of my face, but Yoder had a battery-powered light that he wore on his forehead to illuminate various cages to show me the puppies. A stove was in the small-dog room to provide heat, and several dirty windows were on the walls. When outside I could see my surroundings clearly in the remaining sunlight, but inside the kennel the windows provided virtually no light at all (3.2(c)-Lighting).
Kennel design
Leroy Yoder’s kennel had a primary structure that contained indoor cages for small dogs and indoor/outdoor pens on the ground for larger dogs, such as Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and Standard Poodles. The cages for small dogs were arranged on opposite walls inside one of the kennel rooms, with each wall having two rows of cages, one row set above the other. These wire cages had thick-gauge rubber-coated wire for their floorings and plastic sheeting arranged below them to catch debris.
A separate kennel area was converted from a grain silo to act as a shelter, with wire fencing used to make an outdoor pen for holding Golden Retrievers and Standard Poodles.
Feces build-up
Every cage had varying amounts of feces caked into the crevices of their floorings. One cage, though, holding a Cocker Spaniel and a Miniature Poodle, had feces mashed into about 80% of the wire floorings, preventing most additional excrement from falling through to the plastic sheeting below (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures).
There was a very strong odor of excrement and urine in the building, and I could see standing puddles with over 24 hours of feces under the upper level of cages on the side of the room from which Yoder was showing me puppies (3.2(b)-Ventilation), (3.1(c)(3)-Surfaces); (3.1(f)- Drainage and waste disposal).
Matted Shih-Tzu
One black and white Shih Tzu, a breeding dog inside a cage, had long fur that was heavily matted around the dog’s face (2.40-Vet care).
Cock-a-poo puppies
Several Cock-a-poo puppies were in the basement of Yoder’s house. I was able to see only parts of the basement, which were illuminated by Yoder’s headlamp. A portion of the room was cordoned off with wooden boards, which Yoder and I had to step over to view the puppies. Every part of the concrete floors accessible to the puppies was smeared in dried or fresh feces (3.11(a)-Cleaning of primary enclosures). The room itself was completely dark; sunlight was unable to penetrate inside (3.2(c)-Lighting).
