116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Nine dogs dead since removal from Johnson County puppy farm
Rescue effort has required ‘all hands on deck’ at Iowa City shelter
Aug. 29, 2023 11:11 pm, Updated: Aug. 30, 2023 8:23 am
IOWA CITY — When Michelle Boss, a hairstylist in Iowa City, read on social media about the 131 dogs that were removed from a puppy farm in rural Johnson County last week, she wanted to help.
“I was so appalled,” Boss said.
She donated money to Iowa City Animal Services, which took the dogs in, and she encouraged friends and family to do the same. But that wasn’t enough.
On Saturday, Boss volunteered to help groom the dogs. She spent three hours trimming badly matted and tangled hair on two large dogs. Boss was back Tuesday to continue the volunteer grooming work, and she wasn’t alone.
Cameron Couch, a groomer with Cedar Run in Hiawatha, also volunteered her time Tuesday to help speed up the grooming process.
“Getting them comfortable is the priority,” Couch said of the dogs.
Nine rescued dogs have died
Of the 131 dogs removed Thursday, nine have died, officials said Tuesday.
Eight dogs died from health issues, including heat stroke and canine parvovirus. The other was “euthanized because of temperament issues related to ongoing pain and the neglect endured prior to being in our care,” according to Lee Hermiston, the public safety information officer for Iowa City.
The dogs were surrendered to Iowa City Animal Services after an inspection of the puppy farm, 3027 540th St. SW, near Riverside, by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Inspectors found the dogs on the property were being kept in hot, dirty conditions, and many of the dogs were in a “state of distress.”
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation at the farm, but no charges have been filed.
Where are the dogs now?
Some of the dogs taken from the farm are being kept at the Iowa City Animal Care and Adoption Center, and others are being housed at other locations in Iowa City. Animal services was able to borrow several dog pens from Cedar County, and other supplies were donated by community members after news about the dogs was reported.
“Everybody needed a veterinary checkup,” said Devon Strief, an animal services officer with Iowa City Animal Services. “So far they’ve all been examined. They’ve all been vaccinated.”
The Bissell Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports animal welfare, is taking 60 of the dogs to an adoption agency in Michigan on Wednesday, and 30 of the dogs will go to other adoption agencies, Strief said. Iowa City Animal Services has not yet determined how many of the dogs will be put up for adoption from the Iowa City shelter.
Farm was cited for non-compliance
USDA inspection reports available online show three licenses at the address of the farm near Riverside. Two are class A- Breeder licenses under the name of Loren Yoder and Meadow View Premier Puppies. The other is a Class B- Dealer license under the name Valleyview Premier Puppies, owned by Lloyd Yoder.
Inspection reports from all three licenses show that the property has had 50 non-compliant items noted in the non-critical category since 2016, when the farm was first licensed. They have also had three non-compliant items listed as “direct” and one listed as a “teachable moment.”
During an inspection on Feb. 28, 2022, there were 16 non-compliant, non-critical items cited on the dealer license under Lloyd Yoder. Citations included inaccurate record keeping — records said the farm had 64 adult dogs while the inspectors counted 106 — and maintenance issues with the dogs’ housing facilities.
Maintenance issues included an outdoor enclosure where a loose wire had gotten wrapped around two legs of a dog, an enclosure that had multiple sharp points created by livestock fence panels that had broken, and an enclosure that had numerous shotgun shells scattered across the ground.
There were also two non-compliant items from the February inspection that were listed in the direct category. One citation was for two female Old English Sheepdogs who were severely emaciated and hadn’t seen a vet, and the other citation was because the dog food in at least six outdoor enclosures was contaminated, moldy, caked or deteriorating.
Five more inspections are listed after the February inspection on the USDA website. The last inspection, on Sept. 12, 2022, showed three more dogs who were underweight and had not seen a vet, listed as a direct non-compliant item. The farm received an official USDA warning following that inspection.
The September inspection report for the license listed under Loren Yoder notes that during the inspection exit interview, Yoder canceled his USDA license. The other two licenses are also listed as canceled, though reports don’t state when they were canceled or by whom.
The three dogs in need of veterinary care were also listed in a report by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship for an inspection performed the day after the USDA inspection. A follow up inspection report from the state organization on Sept. 29, 2022 stated that all three dogs had received medical attention.
The state inspected the farm again Jan. 25 this year and noted there wasn’t sufficient bedding to keep the dogs warm, and several dogs needed medical attention, including two dogs with clipper cuts, one limping on its back left food, one holding its left eye shut, and two puppies with eye discharge. A follow up inspection on Jan. 31 noted the dogs had all seen a vet and bedding had been added.
The next report from the state was from a surprise inspection last Thursday. That resulted in the removal of the dogs.
Strief said the Iowa City shelter was notified Thursday morning that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship would be performing a surprise inspection at the farm, and that they were expecting to remove the dogs, after notifying the sheriff’s office.
“Once we got the go ahead, it was kind of an all hands on deck,” she said.
A call for ‘strong and immediate bipartisan effort’
The removal of the dogs has drawn the attention of lawmakers and local animal welfare organizations. Bailing Out Benji, an Iowa-based nonprofit that fights puppy mills, has been aware of the farm in Riverside since 2018 when a customer of the farm complained to the organization and it helped them file an official complaint with the USDA.
“The facility has a long history of violations on both the USDA and state level,” Alexis Bell, a research analyst for Bailing Out Benji, told The Gazette in an email.
“This history of violations is even more alarming when we see through our records that this facility is selling puppies to pet stores across the country, too,” Bell wrote. “We know that they have sold to pet stores in Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas and Virginia, and by effect, to customers who have no idea what type of facility or conditions these puppies are coming from.”
Bell said the nonprofit is grateful that steps were taken to remove the dogs from the property, and hopes that charges will be filed against the owners.
Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, released a public letter to Gov. Kim Reynolds this week, calling for stronger legislation to be put in place regarding commercial dog breeding in Iowa.
“Iowa leads the nation in the number of commercial breeders sanctioned by the USDA. Thirteen Iowa breeders made The Humane Society’s Horrible Hundred list,” Jacoby wrote in the letter.
“It’s time for us to work together to fix this problem,” he wrote. “I look forward to a strong and immediate bipartisan effort to end this wrong. It is as simple as inspection and enforcement. We need to stop unscrupulous puppy mill owners by strengthening the laws that govern commercial breeders, increase inspections, and penalize those who violate the law.“
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
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