ELMWOOD -- Officials rescued dozens of yellow labradors from an unlicensed breeding facility in northwestern Wisconsin last Friday.
Deputies from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office found 35 adult dogs and 13 puppies living indoors in small, filthy travel crates with no access to food or water.
Sheriff Nancy Hove said this case started with a complaint from a concerned citizen.
“What we saw here is no way for a dog to live,” said Kathryn Destreza, the director of investigations for ASPCA Field Investigations and Response. “The puppies at breeding facilities are sold for profit, but many people don’t realize that their parents are often kept there for years, subjected to incessant breeding and usually lacking basic care and socialization, resulting in a very poor quality of life.”
Officials also found several dead animals on the property. ASPCA officials said they believe the facility was puppy mill.
The dogs have been transported to the humane society in Golden Valley, Minn., where they are receiving medical treatment.
The owner of the facility was booked into the Pierce County Jail for mistreatment of animals, not providing proper food to confined animals and improper animal sheltering.
