The HSUS Oversees Rescue of Nearly 700 Dogs from Massive Tennessee Puppy Mill
LYLES, Tenn. – Nearly
700 dogs have a new lease on life after teams of rescuers under the command of The Humane Society of the United States arrived here to save them from a massive puppy mill operation.
The removal of the dogs marks the largest puppy mill rescue ever conducted in Tennessee.
The rescue was set into motion by The HSUS' Tennessee state director who received undercover tips and worked with investigators with the District Attorney's office for the 21st Judicial District to build a case against the puppy mill operator. Law enforcement personnel from the Hickman County Sheriff's Department, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the 21st Judicial District Drug Task Force and the Tennessee Highway Patrol assisted in executing the search warrant.
Nearly 700 dogs are being removed from the facility, which is known as Pine Bluff Kennels. The operator of the facility will be given 15 days after her first court date to post a seizure bond on the animals. If she is unable to post bond, the animals will be surrendered to Hickman County. They will then be placed with HSUS partner shelters and given the opportunity to become the family pets they never had the opportunity to be.
The HSUS has amassed a small army of dedicated individuals to take on the task of rescuing, processing, housing and administering veterinary care for more than 650 dogs. Rescuers from the Humane Society of Missouri, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Nashville Humane Society, High Forest Humane Society, Hickman County Humane Society, Tampa Bay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and various volunteers from across the nation joined The HSUS to tackle this mission.
The dogs will be removed from the property and entered into a computerized tracking system before being transported to the nearby HSUS-operated emergency shelter. Once at the shelter, every animal will be assessed by a veterinarian and given any necessary medical attention.
"The HSUS' actions have brought relief to hundreds of dogs in an overcrowded and unhealthy puppy mill operation," said Leighann McCollum, The HSUS' Tennessee state director. "The state needs to adopt stronger policies to crack down on a large-scale industry that is severely mistreating dogs in Tennessee. And consumers should stop buying dogs from pet stores or through the Internet, and instead adopt homeless dogs from reputable shelters."
U.S. animal shelters euthanize 3 million to 4 million cats and dogs every year, and yet pet industry statistics show that about one-third of the nation's 11,000 pet stores continue to sell puppies. Many of these dogs come from puppy mills—mass commercial breeding operations that put profit above the health and welfare of the puppies and their parents.
"If you aren't going to adopt from an animal shelter, you need to see firsthand where that puppy was born," said Stephanie Shain, director of The HSUS' Stop Puppy Mills campaign. "That's the only way to make sure you aren't unknowingly fueling the demand for puppies from puppy mills. Pet stores and Internet puppy dealers are very smart about deceiving people. These dogs are a cash crop for the puppy mill operators and the pet stores, and it's reprehensible."
The HSUS will have broadcast-quality video and photos available from this operation for viewing and download by news media outlets at
http://video.hsus.org.
