Lawmakers look to crack down on so-called puppy mills

DES MOINES – Veterinarians treating dogs rescued from breeding facilities, many in Iowa, painted a bleak picture Tuesday for state lawmakers about dogs they have seen that suffered from severely matted fur, untreated infections and worse.

Lawmakers also saw undercover videos of dogs housed in crowded, dirty, feces-laden cages that animal welfare groups say show a need for the state to step in to protect animals in breeding facilities.

Those disturbing images and testimony convinced members of a special legislative committee to recommend Tuesday that the Legislature consider giving state agriculture inspectors the power to investigate complaints at federally licensed facilities located in Iowa.

Animal welfare groups have complained the U.S. Department of Agriculture has failed to adequately inspect and enforce regulations at dog breeding facilities it is supposed to oversee.

Rep. Jim Lykam and Sen. Joe Seng, Davenport Democrats who have championed the legislation to allow state inspectors in, are leading the committee. It was formed after efforts to crack down on so-called “puppy mills” stalled in the Legislature last year.

Lykam said the oversight by the U.S.D.A. has not been enough.

“Dogs are not livestock; they are companion animals, and

I feel the public will no longer tolerate the situation as it is,” Lykam said, pointing to other states that have implemented their own oversight of the dog breeding industry.

Seng cited a wave of proposals in other Midwestern states that would subject dog breeding facilities to more regulations and inspections.

Some of the other ideas coming out of the committee Tuesday include increased penalties for unlicensed facilities, a possible mandatory reporting requirement for veterinarians who witness animal neglect and the possibility of raising fees for breeders to cover the cost of another state inspector.

Lykam said it is unknown whether all of those provisions will end up in the form of legislation next year.

Veterinarian Lisa Deppe of Jewell runs what she calls primarily a “rescue practice” and told the stories of several animals that she has treated that came from federally-licensed breeders in Iowa.

She said the issue that needs to be addressed is not so much the puppies but the breeding stock of commercial breeders – the animals that she said live their entire lives in inhumane conditions.

“The veterinary care is considered to be an unnecessary business expense,” Deppe said.

She said the common health issues she sees from these dogs are severe matting of the coat leading to skin, ear and eye infections, difficulty with mobility, difficulty urinating and defecating, as well as severe dental disease.

“Their teeth are literally rotting out of their heads,” Deppe said.

Dr. Robert M. Gibbens, a U.S.D.A. official for the agency's animal inspection service, said Iowa facilities are inspected an average of 1.6 times each year.

“The fact of the matter is, if we go there once a year, we're there for a few hours. We get a snapshot of what's going on,” Gibbens said.

Iowa dog breeders sought to show the positive side of their family businesses and set themselves apart from the bad actors in the industry.

Joe Gerst, a dog breeder from Amana, said he was offended by some of the portrayals.

“We've been portrayed as some pretty evil people this morning, and I would like to say that's not who we are,” Gerst said.

He called for reasonable legislation that will stop the segment of their industry that is not dealing with their animals the way they should.

“We want them to either change, or we want them gone,” Gerst said.

Jonelle Hankner, a veterinarian at Edgewood Animal Hospital in Cedar Rapids, treated dogs bought at a puppy mill auction by one of her clients who rescued them.

The largest rescue she participated in was that of 34 Kerry Blue Terriers bought at auction in March 2006.

“The dogs were dirty, with hair matted tightly to their skin. We spent countless hours plucking ear hair hoping to find an ear canal,” Hankner said. Some dogs had hair matted across their eyes. Many dogs had ear and eye infections, and dental disease was widespread.

One of the eyes was so severely infected that the cornea had ruptured, and the eye was shriveled. Another dog was constipated because matted hair on its hind end made it unable to pass feces. Yet another dog was found to have a hole in the side of her face, but ultimately had a happy ending after reconstructive surgery and adoption.